Radio Times Screen Test Awards 2024 reveals nominations shortlist
The special awards examine how our favourite programmes make us feel.
Last month we asked you to vote for your favourite programmes in our annual Screen Test Awards and now we can reveal the nominees in all seven categories. The only television awards based on science, the Radio Times Screen Test Awards grew out of a survey of 22,000 readers and users that we carried out last year with the department of psychology at the University of Sussex.
The categories reflect the profound impact TV has on the way we feel, from our levels of happiness, to empathy, to trust and even stress. Because our Screen Test study showed that watching TV, far from being a passive pastime, is an activity that engages not only brain but our emotions too.
Study the shortlisted shows and you will see the programme that you voted for as having played a powerful part in our lives in 2024.
But which do we judge to be the best in all seven categories? Our jury of academics, psychologists, TV critics and Radio Times editors will unveil the winners at an awards dinner in central London on 5th November.
Happy TV Award
From murder-solving podcasters to lying British comedians, these are the shows that put the biggest smile on your faces.
- Changing Ends (ITV1/ITVX)
- Ghosts (BBC One/iPlayer)
- Inside No. 9 (BBC Two/iPlayer)
- Only Murders in the Building (Disney Plus)
- Would I Lie to You? (BBC One/iPlayer)
Empathy Award for Drama
These are the characters who touched you, inspired you and moved you to walk in another person's shoes.
- Chris Carson (Martin Freeman) – The Responder (BBC One/iPlayer)
- Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) – Bridgerton (Netflix)
- Jo Hamilton (Monica Dolan) – Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1/ITVX)
- Dr Abbey Henderson (Joanne Froggatt) – Breathtaking (ITV1/ITVX)
- Lali Sokolov (Harvey Keitel/Jonah Hauer-King) – The Tattooist of Auschwitz (Sky Atlantic/NOW)
Watercooler Award
At its best, television stops us in our tracks and gets us all talking. These programmes connected us in 2024.
- Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
- Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1/ITVX)
- Beckham (Netflix)
- Doctor Who (BBC One/iPlayer)
- The Traitors (BBC One/iPlayer)
The Reith Award
This award recognises the programmes that best encapsulate the BBC's mission to "inform, educate and entertain", as put forward by the BBC's first director-general in 1922.
- The Assembly (BBC One/iPlayer)
- Clarkson's Farm (Prime Video)
- D-Day 80: The Unheard Tapes (BBC Two/iPlayer)
- Michael Palin in Nigeria (Channel 5/My5)
- Planet Earth III (BBC One/iPlayer)
Stress Buster Award
TV offers us a doorway to dozens of different worlds. These programmes were the best at helping you escape.
- Death in Paradise (BBC One/iPlayer)
- The Great British Sewing Bee (BBC One/iPlayer)
- The Marlow Murder Club (U&Drama/U)
- Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (BBC Two/iPlayer)
- Race Across the World (BBC One/iPlayer)
Trust Award for Audio
Thanks to podcasts, audio's bond with listeners has never been stronger. These are the shows you count on the most.
- The Great Post Office Trial (BBC Radio 4/Sounds)
- Just One Thing with Michael Mosley (BBC Radio 4/Sounds)
- More or Less (BBC Radio 4/Sounds)
- The Rest Is History (Goalhanger Podcasts)
- Why Do You Hate Me, with Marianna Spring (BBC Sounds)
Best Box Set
We live in a world blessed by a wealth of compelling drama, which means that bingeing is no longer something to feel guilty about. These programmes had you making time so that you could dive in and watch "just one more" episode.
- The Bear (Disney Plus)
- Blue Lights (BBC One/iPlayer)
- A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount Plus)
- The Long Shadow (ITV1/ITVX)
- Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
The Art of Reflection
In our noisy, busy lives, we all need a place of creative contemplation. These are the shows that managed to take you into someone else's world.
- First Night of the Proms (BBC Two/iPlayer)
- French and Saunders: Imagine (BBC One/iPlayer)
- A Life in Pictures (BBC Two/iPlayer)
- The Piano (Channel 4)
- Portrait Artist of the Year (Sky Arts/NOW)
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