BBC1 shows Sherlock and Parade’s End will go head to head in the best drama series category at the 39th Broadcasting Press Guild Awards next month, with Benedict Cumberbatch nominated for best actor for his performances in both. BBC1’s Last Tango in Halfax and BBC2’s Line of Duty will also contest the prize.


In a complex Venn diagram of actors, Cumberbatch is up against Parade’s End co-star Roger Allam – nominated for his roles in the period drama as well as in political satire The Thick of It – along with Peter Capaldi, up for The Thick of It and The Hour, and Ben Wishaw, recognised for his performances in both The Hour and Shakespeare dramatisation The Hollow Crown: Richard II.

Parade’s End – Tom Stoppard’s adaptation of the Ford Madox Ford novels – leads the nominations with a total of five, also including a Writer’s Award nod for Stoppard and best actress for Rebecca Hall.

Hall competes with Sienna Miller for The Girl, Anna Chancellor for Pramface and The Hour, Olivia Colman for Accused and Twenty Twelve and Maxine Peake for Silk and Room at the Top. Stoppard is up against John Morton for Twenty Twelve, Sally Wainwright for Last Tango in Halifax and Scott & Bailey, and Steven Moffat for Doctor Who and Sherlock.

Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile – the ITV film which uncovered a nationwide paedophile scandal – is among the nominees for best single documentary.

The Breakthrough Award, recognising those who attained a new level of success in 2012, will see Olympic and Paralympic presenter Clare Balding facing Adam Hills, host of Paralympics entertainment show The Last Leg, and Jack Whitehall, who starred in comedies Fresh Meat and Bad Education.


The BPG awards are voted for by TV and radio critics.