BAFTA nominations success for Liverpool based dramas

Liverpool dramas Time and Help both secure a sensational six BAFTA TV nominations each.

Television is quickly becoming one of Liverpool’s most acclaimed cultural exports, with both productions made in Liverpool City Region and secured investment from Liverpool Film Office through its LCR Production Fund, using funds from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Strategic Investment Fund.

Two of the city’s most prolific stars; Stephen Graham and Jodie Comer, earn lead actor and actress Leading nominations in their respectively for their performances in Jack Thorne’s care home COVID drama Help (The Forge Entertainment, One Shoe Films/Channel 4) with Graham also bagging a nomination for Supporting Actor for his role in Jimmy McGovern’s prison drama Time (BBC Studios/BBC One).

Time’s stellar cast is also being recognised with Sean Bean earning a Leading Actor nomination, a production that re-teamed him with McGovern, the dramatist behind his BAFTA-winning performance in Broken.

Today’s announcement sees Stephen Graham score a hattrick of BAFTA nominations in 2022, following on from his first BAFTA Film nomination for his leading role in Philip Barantini’s restaurant thriller, Boiling Point.

Fellow Everyman Youth Theatre alumni, Cathy Tyson also earns a BAFTA nomination for Supporting Actress in Help, her first nomination since her acclaimed role in Mona Lisa (1987).

In addition to the stars on screen, Liverpool’s talent behind-the-scenes are being honoured in the Television Craft awards.

Multi-BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Jimmy McGovern earns a nomination for Mini-Series Time, which also picks up nominations for Director Fiction (Lewis Arnold), Photography & Lighting Fiction (Mark Wolf) and Scripted Casting (Beverley Keogh, David Martin).

Fellow BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Jack Thorne, who last night won Royal Television Society’s Outstanding Contribution Award for 2022, is nominated for Writer: Drama for his Help script.

The production team behind Help are being honoured for Single Drama, as well as with BAFTA-winning Director Marc Munden being nominated for Director: Fiction, an award he who last won in his National Treasure pairing with Jack Thorne in the same category (Director: Fiction), Munden is no stranger to filming in Liverpool, having directed the Channel 4 cult hit Utopia, which was also filmed in Liverpool.

Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin (Red Production Company/Channel 4) leads the BAFTA TV nominations with 11 nods. Though predominantly filmed in Manchester, Red filmed scenes in Liverpool as the city doubled for New York and London.

In addition to BAFTAs announcements, Liverpool’s Lime Pictures last night won best continuing drama at the Royal Television Society Awards.