Category: South West TV

Date: 29.11.2004
Printable version

BBC South West has won five out of the ten programme and craft awards presented at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Devon and Cornwall Centre Annual Programme Awards 2004.

The prestigious awards, which recognise excellence in regional programme making, were presented by the Honorary Secretary of the RTS, David Lowen, at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth on Friday night (26 November).

The five awards won by BBC South West are:

Best Regional Feature Magazine - Inside Out

The winning programme is part of a series of 18 current affairs magazine programmes transmitted annually by BBC South West.

They featured, amongst others, the story of Crediton-based battery chicken rescue lady Jane Howorth; a profile of Devon born architect Frank Matcham and an investigation into fake ID cards used by teenagers to buy booze illegally in Exeter.

Chair of the awards jury Jeremy Payne comments: "The winner was hard to beat - a striking programme of high production values with camera, editing and journalism all in harmony."

Reporter of the Year - Samantha Smith

Sam presents BBC South West's Inside Out programme. Her stories included a powerful investigation into teen drinking in Exeter and an investigation into diving safety in the region.

Jeremy Payne comments on Sam: "She had the edge - demonstrating composure, persistence, bravery, and the necessary gravitas with a sense of humour."

Regional Documentary - The Day They Scuttled Scylla

This film followed the story of the scuttling of HMS Scylla in Whitsand Bay earlier this year. The programme was produced for BBC South West by Marcus Bailey of the local independent company Twofour Productions.

Jeremy Payne says of the Scylla film: "This programme had the highest production values, great creativity, beautifully shot - a fantastic piece of work."

Craft Editor - Simon Ashcroft, Picture Editor at BBC South West

Craft Camera - Dan Pomroy, Camera Operator at BBC South West

Commenting on all the programmes and craft entries submitted by the leading broadcasters and independents in the region to this year's awards, Jeremy says:

"The range and quality was, with very few exceptions, excellent. It clearly demonstrates that in this part of the world, at least , regional programming is thriving."

BBC Head of Regional and Local programmes John Lilley adds: "It's great that the RTS has recognised the excellence of so much of BBC South West's output.

"It's very much a tribute to the hard work put in by all our programme teams and to the investment the BBC is putting into programming in the South West."

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