BAFTA to celebrate children's television with three new awards categories
Next year's awards are set to celebrate the world of children's TV.
In an effort to celebrate the world of television for children and families, BAFTA have announced that they will be bringing three new categories to its annual BAFTA Television Awards and BAFTA TV Craft Awards.
The new categories will "focus on celebrating television for audiences aged 16 and under", BAFTA has said and will honour several sections of children's TV.
The new awards categories include Children’s Scripted Award, which will be for scripted programs like drama and comedy and can also be live- action or animated. The next new category will be for the Children’s Non-Scripted Award, shining a light on factual, factual entertainment, documentary and news.
Finally, the third new category will be for the Children’s Craft Team Award which will honour the behind-the-scenes talent working in children’s scripted and unscripted programming.
On the announcement of the new categories, the British Academy said: “Three new categories celebrating children’s television and the talented people who bring the genre to life on-and-off screen will be introduced into next year’s awards.
"From iconic characters beloved by families around the world, to the developmental and educational theory underpinning high-quality children’s programming, the genre has sparked endless joy and creativity in the hearts and minds of younger audiences.”
Read more:
- The Sandman season 2 confirms which new characters will appear in dreamy first look
- Richard Osman admits he's written Thursday Murder Club movie joke into next book
It's not the first slew of family-related announcements that BAFTA has made as of late, they also previously revealed that they would be including a new Children and Family Film Award in next year's EE BAFTA Film Awards. Not only that but there will also be a Family Award in the BAFTA Games Awards.
Speaking about the inclusion of the new family-related awards categories, the British Academy said: "All five categories have been developed in consultation with sector peers and the recently formed cross-industry Young BAFTA Advisory Group, created to steer BAFTA’s year-round programs for children and young people as well as its ongoing support for creatives and practitioners working in the children’s screen industries."
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
BAFTA chair Sara Putt also said: “Film, games and television hold a magical, unique and vital place in our culture, and the children’s stories made for our screens are so often developed with immense skill, warmth and creativity.
“The inclusion of five new categories across our internationally renowned awards in film, games and TV will enable us to bring the very best of the screen arts to even wider audiences.”
Andrew Miller, chair of the Young BAFTA Advisory Group and BAFTA trustee, also said: “The children’s screen industries leads the way when it comes to diverse and educational storytelling, and it’s an important and essential talent pipeline — with British children’s screen characters beloved by families across the world.
"Many on and off-screen creatives and practitioners working across the sector owe their careers to children’s media, including me."
The BAFTA Television Awards will return in 2025.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
