Audio and Radio Industry Awards 2020 – Winners

The winners at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards 2020 have been revealed at an event at the London Palladium.

The BBC took home 17 awards including Emma Barnett for Best Speech Presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James for Best New Show, The 1Xtra Breakfast Show with Dotty forBest Music Breakfast Show and Elis
James and John Robins for Funniest Show on BBC Radio 5 Live. 

Bauer Media radio brands were recognised on the night with Absolute Radio winning Gold for their coverage for Mental Health Awareness Week as well as their regional station Forth 1 who won Best Local Radio Show.

BBC Radio 2 won National Station or Network, BBC Radio 3 won Best Specialist Music Show for This Classical Life and BBC Radio 4 took home the award for Best Fictional Storytelling for Forest 404 and Best Factual Series for Ladder to Nowhere. 

talkSport won gold for Best Commercial Promotion and talkRADIO were crowned winners of the Radio Times Moment of the The Year for an overdosing man calling Iain Lee live on air as voted by readers whilst National Prison Radio won Best Community Programming. 

BBC regional station wins include BBC Radio Wales for Best Sports Show, BBC Radio Sheffield for Best Speech Breakfast Show and BBC WM for Best Factual Single Programme. 

BBC Hereford & Worcester won The John Myers Award for Local Station of the Year. The award was introduced this year to pay tribute to the leading local radio executive and former Chair & Chief Executive of the Radio Academy, John Myers. 

In addition, Gold Awards were also handed out tonight to talkSPORT recognising 20 years of broadcasting and their commitment to diversity and representation in sport in the last year, Jazz FM recognising 30 years of broadcasting and their contribution to the genre of Jazz music and Tay FM recognising 40 years of broadcasting and their contribution to the community of Tayside and Fife. 

The Passenger List won Gold in the Best Independent Podcast category, The Bellingcat Podcast took silver and the acclaimed podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno won bronze.

Here’s the full list of winners:

BEST NEW PRESENTER
GOLD : RAJ & PILAR / BBC Radio 1’s The Reality Tea, by Fresh Air Productions
SILVER: JACOB HAWLEY / Jacob Hawley: On Drugs, BBC Sounds
BRONZE: TYLER WEST / Kiss FM 

BEST NEW SHOW
GOLD : RADIO 1 BREAKFAST WITH GREG JAMES / BBC Radio 1


SILVER: THE NEXT EPISODE / BBC Sounds

BRONZE: POLITIX & CHILL / BBC Sussex

BEST NEWS COVERAGE
GOLD: MYLES BONNAR – A-GAME EXPOSÉ / BBC The Social & BBC News Scotland
SILVER: COPS ON THE FRONT LINE / BBC Radio Manchester
BRONZE: ANATOMY OF A STABBING / PM on BBC Radio 4

BEST FACTUAL SERIES
GOLD: LADDER TO NOWHERE / Whistledown Productions, BBC Radio 4
SILVER: SURROGACY: A FAMILY FRONTIER / BBC Radio 5 live
BRONZE: THE BELLINGCAT PODCAST: MH17 / Novel 

SPECIAL AWARD
Winner: TALKSPORT
20 years of broadcasting and their commitment to diversity and representation in sport in the last year

BEST FACTUAL SINGLE PROGRAMME
GOLD: KANE WALKER: LIFE AND DEATH ON THE STREETS / BBC WM
SILVER: BEING GERRY ADAMS / Juniper, BBC Radio 4
BRONZE: A SENSE OF QUIETNESS / Falling Tree Productions, BBC Radio 4

BEST FICTIONAL STORYTELLING
GOLD: FOREST 404 / BBC Radio 4
SILVER: A VIEW FROM A HILL / Bafflegab Productions for Audible UK
BRONZE: FIRST DO NO HARM / BBC Radio 4

BEST COVERAGE OF AN EVENT
GOLD: MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK / Absolute Radio
SILVER: CRICKET WORLD CUP FINAL / BBC Radio 5 live
BRONZE: GREAT NORTH RUN / Metro Radio

BEST INDEPENDENT PODCAST
GOLD: PASSENGER LIST / Goldhawk Productions / Radiotopia
SILVER: THE BELLINGCAT PODCAST: MH17 / Novel
BRONZE: MY DAD WROTE A PORNO / Medium Maze

FUNNIEST SHOW
GOLD: ELIS JAMES AND JOHN ROBINS / Audio Always for BBC Radio 5 live
SILVER: JAMES VEITCH’S CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION / BBC Radio 4
BRONZE: SHAGGED MARRIED ANNOYED / Avalon Television Ltd

BEST COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
GOLD: NATIONAL PRISON RADIO / Prison Radio Association
SILVER: CHRIS EVANS WITH REVEREND RUTH SCOTT / Virgin
BRONZE: SAMARITANS / talkSPORT

SPECIAL AWARD
Winner: JAZZ FM
30 years of broadcasting and their contribution to the genre of Jazz music

BEST SPECIALIST MUSIC SHOW
GOLD: THIS CLASSICAL LIFE / BBC Radio 3 
SILVER: ABSOLUTE RADIO STORIES / Absolute Radio
BRONZE: GILLES PETERSON / Somethin’ Else for BBC Radio 6 Music

BEST MUSIC PRESENTER
GOLD: MISTAJAM / BBC Radio 1Xtra
SILVER: ABBIE MCCARTHY / BBC Radio Kent / Radio 1 / 6 Music
BRONZE: EDITH BOWMAN / Soundtracking a podcast by Ebow Productions

BEST COMMERCIAL PROMOTION
GOLD: SAMARITANS / talkSPORT
SILVER: THE HOMETIME FISH AND CHIP TOUR 2019 WITH MALDON SALT / Absolute
BRONZE: WOMEN OF STEEL / The Wave and Swansea Sound 

BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN
GOLD: RADIO 1 BREAKFAST #MAKETHISGREG / BBC Radio 1 
SILVER: ENGLAND’S WINTER TOURS OF SRI LANKA & WEST INDIES / talkSPORT
BRONZE: ABSOLUTE RADIO 10 / Absolute Radio

BEST STATION SOUND
GOLD: RADIO 1 STATION SOUND / BBC Popular Music Station Sound
SILVER: PROJECT BAXTER ON 6 MUSIC / BBC Popular Music Station Sound
BRONZE: THE ABSOLUTE RADIO NETWORK

BEST SPORTS SHOW
GOLD: SUPER G: HOW GERAINT WON THE YELLOW JERSEY / BBC Radio Wales
SILVER: THAT PETER CROUCH PODCAST / BBC Radio 5 live
BRONZE: TAILENDERS / TBI Media for BBC Radio 5 live 

SPECIAL AWARD
Winner: TAY FM
40 years of broadcasting and their contribution to the community of Tayside and Fife

BEST SPEECH BREAKFAST SHOW
GOLD: TOBY FOSTER AT BREAKFAST / BBC Radio Sheffield 
SILVER: ANNABEL AMOS AT BREAKFAST / BBC Radio Northampton
BRONZE: 5 LIVE BREAKFAST / BBC Radio 5 live

BEST SPEECH PRESENTER
GOLD: EMMA BARNETT / BBC Radio 5 Live
SILVER: MIKE SWEENEY / BBC Radio Manchester 
BRONZE: FRANK SKINNER / Absolute Radio

BEST MUSIC BREAKFAST SHOW
GOLD: THE 1XTRA BREAKFAST SHOW WITH DOTTY / BBC Radio 1Xtra
SILVER: RADIO 1 BREAKFAST WITH GREG JAMES / BBC Radio 1
BRONZE: THE DAVE BERRY BREAKFAST SHOW / Absolute Radio

BEST LOCAL RADIO SHOW
GOLD: BOOGIE IN THE MORNING / Forth 1
SILVER: ALLISON FERNS / BBC Surrey & BBC Sussex
BRONZE: JUSTIN DEALEY / BBC Three Counties Radio

THE JOHN MYERS AWARD FOR LOCAL RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR
GOLD: BBC HEREFORD & WORCESTER
SILVER: STRAY FM
BRONZE: BBC RADIO SHEFFIELD

NATIONAL STATION OR NETWORK OF THE YEAR
GOLD: BBC RADIO 2
SILVER: THE ABSOLUTE RADIO NETWORK
BRONZE: BBC RADIO 1XTRA

RADIO TIMES MOMENT OF THE YEAR
GOLD: OVERDOSING MAN CALLS IAIN LEE / talkRADIO
SILVER: ENGLAND WIN THE CRICKET WORLD CUP / BBC Test Match Special
BRONZE: LIVE FROM THE HELICOPTER CRASH SITE / BBC Radio Leicester