Mum, Fleabag and The Last Leg win at Broadcast Awards 2017
- Mum, the BBC Two sitcom starring Lesley Manville, was named Best Comedy at the Broadcast Awards 2017
- BBC Three's Fleabag won both Best Multichannel Programme and Best Original Programme
- The Last Leg's coverage of the Rio Paralympics saw it pick up the Best Entertainment Programme prize
Mum, the BBC Two sitcom starring Lesley Manville, has been named Best Comedy Programme at the Broadcast Awards 2017.
Judges at the awards of television industry magazine Broadcast noted the comedy, written by Him & Her creator Stefan Golaszewski, "was a genuinely funny and moving piece of work that subverted expectations".
Produced by Big Talk Productions, who were also named Best Independent Production Company, the series was picked ahead of fellow nominees Camping, Catastrophe, Chewing Gum, Fleabag and Murder In Successville.
The awards organisers say: "Judges were blown away by the bittersweet tenderness and authenticity of the drama that ran through the sitcom. One praised the show for the 'utterly beautiful and honest performances' of a cast led by Lesley Manville and Peter Mullan. Another described it as 'real, funny and moving', adding that it was 'refreshing to see characters like this' in a sitcom."
Mum, which launched on BBC Two in May 2016, is due to return for a second series later this year.
Meanwhile, Fleabag, launched by the now online-only BBC Three, was named by judges as both Best Multichannel Programme and Best Original Programme.
Creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who has already won a number of other industry awards for her sitcom, was hailed by judges as a "brilliant unique voice" that was "breathing new life into British comedy".
In the Original Programme category, the judges noted: "Phoebe Waller-Bridge's six-part series was that rare breed: a comedy that landed fully-formed and seemingly unfiltered by the hands of commissioners and producers. No wonder it went on to be a hit with BBC Two audiences too."
They added: "The Two Brothers series was also a shining example of how to open up a theatrical piece for TV. Many strands of Waller-Bridge's monologue survived the transition thanks to her conspiratorial pieces to camera, often in her character's most intimate moments, but the story arc was brilliantly opened up by a compelling structure anchored by career-best performances from Olivia Colman, Bill Paterson and Hugh Dennis."
The judges also noted that BBC Three offered the show many experimental opportunities and supported the project at all stages. "Buoyed by the BBC's suggestion that it should not be confined by traditional narratives, Waller-Bridge and her team played with wildly different tones, structures and locations throughout the six episodes, undercutting the laughs with some difficult and dark subject matter."
The judges were unanimous in their praise. "A fresh new talent with a unique voice has exploded onto our screens", said one, while another marvelled that it was "bold and unapologetically frank, with modern moral dilemmas dealt with to tragicomic perfection".
It is currently un-clear whether Fleabag will return. It is known that the BBC want to commission another series, but Waller-Bridge is currently busy working on American projects, including writing an eight-part drama called Killing Eve. She has previously commented she would only write another series of Fleabag "if the right story comes along for a new chapter".
Channel 4's topical comedy series The Last Leg was the third comedy winner of the evening, being named Best Entertainment Programme for its coverage from the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The judges noted: "The Last Leg took a giant leap forward in 2016 with a live, daily pre-watershed show reviewing the Rio Paralympics. It was a major gamble from Channel 4 to put an entertainment format at the heart of its Rio coverage and there was a lot resting on hosts Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe. But the format made the transition seamlessly, attracting a new, young audience to the channel's Paralympics coverage, without sacrificing any of The Last Leg's notoriously edgy humour and anarchy."
The awards' judges also noted the significant ratings the programme attracted, pointing out the show "helped grow the volume of 16 to 34 year-olds tuning in to the Paralympics, with an average audience of almost 2 million - climbing throughout the tournament to hit a high of 2.3 million".
The judges declared it a "pioneering" programme, with one joking "This show stands on its own in this genre... just not on its own legs." However, they also believed that the normal series is pre-recorded, rather than also being live, as is the case.
The Last Leg is currently back on air, broadcasting on Friday nights at 10pm. There look likely to be as many as 40 episodes of the show broadcast this year, indicating how it has become a key part of Channel 4's schedule. The channel was also named Channel Of The Year.
Other winners at the Broadcast Awards included Interview with A Murderer, The Real Marigold Hotel and Jools Holland's music show. For the full list of results visit broadcastawards.co.uk