Sony Radio Awards 2014 comedy nominations
The nominees have been announced for the 2014 Radio Academy Awards, the prestigious broadcasting prizes better known for many years as The Sony Awards.
The nominations for 'Best Comedy' are:
- Bridget Christie Minds The Gap (BBC Radio 4)
- Here Be Dragons (BBC Radio Wales)
- John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (BBC Radio 4)
- The Blagger's Guide To Doctor Who (BBC Radio 2)
- The Secret World (BBC Radio 4)
The nomination for sketch show Here Be Dragons (pictured) is notable in that it is the first time for a number of years a regional BBC station has scored a nominee in the comedy category.
Produced by Ben Walker, the series was broadcast on BBC Radio Wales, although it could be heard by comedy fans nationwide on digital platforms and iPlayer. It starred Elis James, Nadia Kamil, Lloyd Langford, Cariad Lloyd and Sian Harries.
Today's news marks another success for Bridget Christie. Last year she won the Edinburgh Comedy Award, and last week picked up two titles at the 2014 Chortle Awards.
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was also nominated last year. However the sketch series did prove popular with audiences voting in the Comedy.co.uk Awards 2013. Notably, Finnemore's other show - the smash hit sitcom Cabin Pressure - doesn't appear in the Radio Academy nominees list, despite having won a number of other industry awards.
Other comedy-related nominations include Frank Skinner's show on Absolute Radio, which is up for 'Best Speech Programme'; Graham Norton, who is up for 'Music Radio Personality of the Year' for his Radio 2 programme; comedy writer and Radio 5 Live host Danny Baker, who has been nominated for 'Speech Radio Personality of the Year'; and Adam Buxton, who is up for 'Best Music Feature of Documentary' for a 6 Music show on David Bowie.
Last year Isy Suttie: Pearl And Dave took Gold in the comedy category. Other winners in recent years include Mark Steel's In Town, The Jason Byrne Show and Adam & Joe.
A full list of nominations can be found on the Radio Academy Awards website
The results will be announced at a ceremony on the 12th May 2014 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel, hosted by Chris Evans.