The winners of the 36th Annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards were announced recently at a ceremony at the Theatre Royal in London and saw wins for Northern Ireland drama series ‘Occupation’ and Terry Wogan.
‘Occupation’, a Kudos Film production for BBC One came away from the awards ceremony with the title of Best Drama Series. Written by Peter Bowker (Flesh And Blood, Canterbury Tales) and directed by Nick Murphy (Surviving Disaster, Heroes & Villains), ‘Occupation’ traces the lives of three British soldiers and spans the five years following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Their fates – and the destiny of Iraq itself – become inextricably linked and, united in war, the three men, and their friendships, are torn apart during the peace that follows.
Shot on location in Northern Ireland and Iraq in 2008, ‘Occupation’ stars James Nesbitt (Five Minutes of Heaven, Bloody Sunday), Stephen Graham (The Damned United, This is England) and Warren Brown (Hollyoaks, Shameless). The drama has previously won a Prix Europa for Best Episode of a Television Fiction Series or Serial of the Year and a Royal Television Society Award for writer Peter Bowker.
Irish talent was further recognised with the bestowal of the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting on Limerick-born Sir Terry Wogan. The award was presented to him on the back of his work on projects such as ‘Children in Need’; ‘The Eurovision Song Contest’; ‘The Kenny Everett Show’; ‘A Night of Comedy Relief’; ‘Wogan’ and ‘Wogan Now and Then’.
The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) is an association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally. The award winners are voted for by members of the guild. For a full list of winners visit www.broadcastingpressguild.org.
