Bristol’s burgeoning television industry and its home-grown talent swept the board at this year’s Royal Television Society West of England Awards.
The glittering gala ceremony staged in the Old Vic highlighted the wealth of small-screen creativity in the city – from those in front of and behind the camera to its Bottle Yard studio and internationally acclaimed natural history output. 
The awards, in association with Evolutions Bristol, were hosted by BAFTA-winning actor Jason Watkins and guests included historian, curator and TV presenter Lucy Worsley, antique sleuth Philip Mould (Fake or Fortune), Nick Knowles and upcoming actress Ruby Ashbourne Serkis (Cider with Rosie).
BBC Features had a successful evening, scooping four awards for shows Fake or Fortune and DIY SOS: Homes for Veterans as well as for on screen talent with Anita Rani for Countryfile.
Clifton-based Drummer TV scooped two awards for CBBC show Ice Stars and hard-hitting BBC3 documentary Where am I Sleeping Tonight?
Best Natural History programme went to Bristol-based Silverback Films for its landmark BBC One series The Hunt, voiced by Sir David Attenborough.
The evening also celebrated the range of dramas filmed in the region over the past year either on location in Bristol or at The Bottle Yard Studios in Hengrove with Carnival Films’ The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, pictured, winning five of the seven categories.
This included Best Drama which was presented by Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson, along with On Screen Performance for host Jason Watkins, for his portrayal of the Clifton landlord vilified by the press over the murder of Joanna Yeates.
Best Director went to Wolf Hall’s Peter Kosminsky and Best Composer to Debbie Wiseman, also for Wolf Hall.
Other winners on the night included Leigh Woods-based independent production company John Downer Productions for its BBC show, Pets – Wild at Heart, while Bristol musician Will Gregory won for its music. Its editors Stuart Napier and Imogen Pollard picked up the Editing award.
In News, it was two wins for BBC Points West – for reporter Fiona Lamdin, for her exclusive handling of the Becky Watts case and to the team behind the Points West Abuse Special.
RTS Bristol presented a special award to See Hear, part of BBC Features and Daytime Production, which has been on air for 35 years.
Sophie Stone, the deaf actress who has recently starred in Doctor Who, presented the award to the team and talked of its importance as the voice of the deaf community and its portrayal of deaf people as ‘people with potential.’
The Sir Ambrose Fleming Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to television in the RTS Bristol area went to Steve Humphries, managing director of Bristol’s Testimony Films who, for almost 25 years, has been producing a raft of memorable and inspirational documentaries, for example with WW1 soldier Harry Patch and on the survivors of the Twin Tower tragedies.
Sponsors of the RTS West of England awards included title sponsor Evolutions Bristol, BBC Features and Daytime Production Bristol, BBC Natural History Unit, BDH, ITV West, Films at 59, Doghouse Post Production, Icon Films, Tigress Productions, Studio Cars, The Bottle Yard Studios and Bristol Film Office.
