Audio - BBC Audio Drama Awards

The finalists in the 2023 BBC Audio Drama Awards have been announced. Here's the full shortlist ...

Press Release

There's a wealth of talent such as Toby Jones, Danielle Vitalis and Ken Cheng all in the running for the top spots. Jones, known for his extensive work across screen, stage and radio, is up for the Best Actor accolade for his part in The Miser. He is up against Lesser, for One Five Seven Years, and Alfred Enoch, in Darkness. Vitalis has made the cut in the Best Actress category, alongside Ruth Everett and Mary Murray, whilst elsewhere Ken Cheng is a finalist in the Best Scripted Comedy category, for Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian.

Judges including actress Monica Dolan, theatre director Michael Buffong, Daniel Evans and Ruth Jones are whittling down the finalists, with winners to be revealed in a ceremony on Sunday 19th March at the BBC Radio Theatre, London.

Brick Lane, the first radio adaptation of Monica Ali’s debut novel, is in the final three for Best Adaptation. Song of the Reed starring Mark Rylance and Sophie Okonedo is up for Best Original Series or Serial, as is Exemplar, by debut audio authors Ben and Max Ringham, more widely known for their theatre work.

Dramas that impressed judges and have secured themselves more than one nomination are Berlin Alexanderplatz and End of Transmission.

The BBC is the biggest commissioner of audio drama globally, and as such is proud to highlight the best from the sector, particularly in this, the centenary year of audio drama on BBC Radio. This year's BBC Audio Drama Awards cover audio dramas first broadcast in English in the UK between 1st October 2021 and 31st October 2022 or first uploaded/published/released for free listening online in the UK during the same period and celebrate the passionate and dedicated work of professionals who bring this artform to listeners - from actors to writers, producers and sound designers. Across formats, themes, on air and online, the awards recognise an array of productions.

Full list of finalists:

Best Original Single Drama

Daughter by Testament, producer Gary Brown, BBC Audio Drama North
End of Transmission by Anita Sullivan, producer Karen Rose, Sweet Talk
Solomon Browne by Callum Mitchell, producer James Robinson, BBC Cymru Wales


Best Adaptation

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin, adapted by Simon Scardifield, producers Marc Beeby and Emma Harding, BBC Audio Drama London
Brick Lane by Monica Ali, adapted by Tanika Gupta, producer Anne Isger, BBC Audio Drama London
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, adapted by Lin Coghlan, producer Sally Avens, BBC Audio Drama London


Best Original Series or Serial

Exemplar by Ben and Max Ringham and Dan Rebellato, producers Jade Lewis and Polly Thomas, Reduced Listening
Song of the Reed by Steve Waters, producer Boz Temple-Morris, Holy Mountain
This Thing of Darkness by Lucia Haynes, Eileen Horne and Anita Vettesse, producers Gaynor Macfarlane and Kirsty Williams, BBC Scotland


Best Actor

Alfred Enoch, Darkness, director Nadia Molinari, BBC Audio Drama North
Toby Jones, The Miser, director Emma Harding, BBC Cymru Wales
Anton Lesser, One Five Seven Years, director Nicolas Jackson, Afonica


Best Actress

Ruth Everett, Spice, director Toby Swift, BBC Audio Drama London
Mary Murray, The Pride of Parnell Street, director Jim Culleton, BBC Audio Drama London
Danielle Vitalis, Faith, Hope and Glory, director Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, BBC Audio Drama London


Best Supporting Performance

Matthew Gravelle, Fault Lines: Blood, director Gary Brown, BBC Audio Drama North
Conleth Hill, Dead Hand, director Michael Shannon, BBC Northern Ireland
Josie Lawrence, Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones!, director David Tyler, Pozzitive

The Marc Beeby Award for Best Debut Performance

Natalie Davis, The War After the War, director Johnny Vegas, Woolyback Productions
Gareth Elis, Tremolo, director Zoe Waterman, Illumine Theatre
Evie Hargreaves, Miss Nobody, director Pauline Harris, BBC Audio Drama North


Best Scripted Comedy (Longform)

The Downing Street Doppelganger by Jim Poyser, producer Gary Brown, BBC Audio Drama North
Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian by Ken Cheng, producer Rajiv Karia, BBC Studios
Tudur Owen: United Nations of Anglesey by Tudur Owen, producer Richard Morris, BBC Studios


Best Scripted Comedy (Sketch Show)

Please Use Other Door by Kat Butterfield, Dan Audritt, Sophie Dickson, Laura Major, Rob Darke, Alex Nash, Sam South, Ed Amsden, Tom Coles, Cody Dahler, Toby Williams, Ed Tew, Anna Goodman, Imogen Andrews, Matt Harrison, Carwyn Blayney, Natasha Dhanraj, Alice Etches, Nathalie Antonia, Chris Ryman, Simon Alcock, Leigh Douglas, Chazz Redhead, Paul F Taylor, Jo Wiggins, Cameron Loxdale, Lewis Cook, Owen Petty, Tom Oxenham, Rebecca Heitlinger and Bill Dare; producer Bill Dare, BBC Studios
The Skewer by creator and producer Jon Holmes, Tony Churnside and The Skewer Contributing Team, Unusual Productions
Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! By Milton Jones, James Cary and Dan Evans, producer David Tyler, Pozzitive


Best Podcast Audio Drama

Acid Dream by Tim Price, produced by James Robinson, BBC Radio Wales
The System by Ben Lewis, producer Kirsty Williams, BBC Scotland
Work by Joana Nastari, producers Ellen Spence, Eleanor Turney, George Warren, Patrick Eakin Young, Soundworlds


Best Use of Sound

Ariel and Winter Trees, sound by Jon Nicholls, producer Charlotte Melén, Almost Tangible
Berlin Alexanderplatz, sound by Alison Craig, Anne Bunting, Keith Graham and Caleb Knightley, producers Marc Beeby and Emma Harding, BBC Audio Drama London
Town Is By the Sea, sound by Ross Flight, producers Eleanor Turney, George Warren, Patrick Eakin Young, Soundworlds


Best European Drama

Burning by Sudabeh Mohafez, adapted by Matěj Samec, producer Lenka Veverková, CZR Czech Radio
Let Me Tell You by Marta Rebzda, producer Beata Jankowska, Polskie Radio, Poland
The Sixties by Ema Stere, adapted and directed by Mihnea Chelaru, producer Oana Cristea Grigorescu, Radio Romania


IMISON AWARD 2023

Making of a Monster by Connor Allen, producer Emma Harding, BBC Cymru Wales for BBC Radio 4
Knock of the Ban Sithe by Kenny Boyle, producer Bruce Young, BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 4
The A-Z of Things: M is for Mussels by Lara Barbier, producer Becky Ripley, BBC Bristol for BBC Radio 3


TINNISWOOD AWARD 2023

A Close Approximation of You by Oliver Emanuel, producer Kirsty Williams, BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 4
Waterloo Station by Katie Hims, producer Mary Peate, BBC Audio Drama London for BBC Radio 4
Strings by Linda Marshall Griffiths, producer Nadia Molinari, BBC Audio Drama North for BBC Radio 3
End of Transmission by Anita Sullivan, producer Karen Rose, Sweet Talk Productions for BBC Radio 4

Image & info - BBC