Meet The Richardsons wins at Broadcast Digital Awards
- Meet The Richardsons won Best Comedy Programme at the Broadcast Digital Awards 2021
- Channel of the Year, Dave, also scored wins with Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable and Big Zuu's Big Eats
- ITV2 panel show Don't Hate The Playaz was named Best Lockdown Programme
Meet The Richardsons, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, Don't Hate The Playaz and Big Zuu's Big Eats were amongst the winners at the Broadcast Digital Awards 2021.
Run by television trade magazine Broadcast, the awards focus on content from channels not considered 'terrestrial', and aim to "celebrate leading digital content from across the UK".
Best Comedy Programme
Broadcast says: "Going into bat against numerous full-length series, it was two Christmas special episodes of Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont's Meet The Richardsons that bowled over the Broadcast judges.
"Providing light-hearted relief for locked- down viewers over the festive period, the second episode averaged an audience of 568,000, which made it Dave's highest-rating commission since Taskmaster: Champion Of Champions in 2017. The two episodes attracted average viewing figures of 534,000 and peaked at over 1 million.
"In a move away from the panel show format for Dave, the quasi-fictional scripted comedy was praised for its originality and the natural chemistry exuding from its star couple. Such was its reception that when Line Of Duty writer Jed Mercurio was asked on a podcast about what show he enjoyed watching, the answer was Meet The Richardsons.
"The superb writing and acting, combined with special guest appearances from Johnny Vegas and Jason Donovan, created a Christmas environment that was chaotic, funny and loving all at the same time."
One Broadcast judge praised the show's "intriguing and unique tone", adding: "What feels like familiar ground in its production and tone quickly gives way to engaging and inviting comedy, heart and family warmth we can all relate to."
Another returned to the basics of comedy judging with an assessment that the programme "quite simply made me laugh the most out of all the shows submitted".
The other nominees in this category were Brassic, Famalam, Scot Squad, The Emily Atack Show and The Young Offenders.
Best Entertainment Programme
From a shortlist also featuring Life & Rhymes, Dating No Filter, Don't Hate The Playaz, Rob And Romesh Vs and The Rap Game UK, judges selected the Dave panel show hosted by Mel Giedroyc as the winner in the Best Entertainment Programme category.
Talking about the boost to ratings the show gave its host channel, the organisers say: "Outrageous sins, lies and legal transgressions were the order of the day in a format that quickly found its feet on Dave. Its slate of comedian and celebrity confessions struck a chord with audiences, registering a seven-day consolidated audience of 457,000 adults, which was a +132% rise on the 52-week benchmark.
"This translated to a consolidated viewing share of 3.07%, cementing Dave as the number one non-terrestrial owned channel across the 10pm time-slot on the night of launch.
"The presenter line up of Mel Giedroyc and Lou Sanders impressed the Broadcast judges, with one claiming it was probably Giedroyc's best work: 'Her chemistry with her co-host is brilliant - it's fantastic storytelling.' Another added: 'It's great to see two female hosts, and Mel and Lou are a joy to watch.'
"A third judge praised the show's originality, humour and lack of smugness.
"By trusting the duo to push boundaries with their comedy, producer Expectation allowed Unforgivable to make jokes about the patriarchy rarely found on male-fronted panel shows. Already having persuaded the likes of Graham Norton, Jennifer Saunders, Richard Ayoade and Gemma Collins to battle to be crowned Unforgivable, the show has been recommissioned."
Best Lockdown Programme
ITV2 panel show Don't Hate The Playaz came top in the Best Lockdown Programme (Comedy, Entertainment & Scripted) category.
The magazine says: "After two series on air, Monkey Kingdom's panel format was forced to adapt to Covid protocols and launch its third series amid a global pandemic.
"Unlike many lockdown versions of entertainment shows, the judges felt the distanced set gave the show a sense of "scale and performance" rather than feeling "cavernous". In fact, the judges felt that the lockdown adaption added to the look of the show and made it more popular than its pre-pandemic iteration.
"Don't Hate The Playaz was praised for its diverse casting, featuring the UK's first all-back female panel line-up, as well being able to tap into a diverse audience. One judge said the casting felt 'refreshing' and full of 'fun and energy'.
"The hip-hop comedy panel show has earned a reputation launching and nurturing new talent, with agents praising the format for helping boost the careers of young comics and musicians. 'Every element felt right' was one judge's verdict about the show's lockdown episodes. 'It felt so warm and lively and really got the best out of some great guests,' they added.
"The set was purposely designed to feel like a gig-style environment with a minimal stage allowing the audience and talent to take centre stage, adding to its 'authenticity' said one judge. 'This was incredibly impressive to pull off during lockdown.'"
The judges also looked at How's Your Head Hun?, A League Of Their Own, Celebrity Juice, InterConnected: Salvation Calling and There's Something About Movies in this category.
Gamechanger Programme of the Year
The comic cooking format was selected in the category based around formats that cause notable change.
Broadcast says: "With nominations across television's main awards shows, Big Zuu's Big Eats has received plenty of plaudits for its originality and diversity and has now won Broadcast's Gamechanger of the Year gong.
"Travelling around the country to cook for special celebrity guests, grime artist and self-taught cook Big Zuu has carved out a special niche for himself to attract a solid fan base on Dave. Combining comedy and cooking, as well as musical influence, the star puts a unique spin on his show, and makes it stand out from the smorgasbord of other cooking productions.
"With an average audience of 135,000 over seven-day consolidation, the show has brought significant numbers to Dave. It has reached over half a million 16-34 viewers in total, making it one of Dave's strongest shows within the important age bracket.
"The critics have paid many compliments to the chef, including the Daily Telegraph calling him an 'engaging host' and the Daily Mail writing he has 'a very natural way of talking to people'.
"Capitalising on the show's success, Big Zuu now offers viewers his very own cookbook, that holds the recipes from the show. With further franchise opportunities available, and a second series and YouTube series on the way - Big Zuu's Big Eats is undeniably gamechanging for Dave."
Elsewhere in the results, Mission: Accessible, the YouTube travel show hosted by Rosie Jones was selected in the Best Content Partnership category. Meanwhile Dave was named Channel of the Year.
For a full list of results see broadcastdigitalawards.co.uk