Sherlock was named best TV drama at the South Bank Awards this afternoon, in a ceremony hosted by the Sky Arts show’s presenter, Melvyn Bragg.


BBC1’s modern-day take on the great detective beat Channel 4 series Top Boy and This Is England ’88 to the gong as the awards celebrated their 16th year.

Co-creator Mark Gatiss and actor Andrew Scott, who plays Sherlock’s adversary, Moriarty, collected the award, while Gatiss’s partner in crime, Steven Moffat, and the show’s star, Benedict Cumberbatch, were in New York preparing to unleash the series on a US audience.

The famously eclectic South Bank Awards, now in its 16th year, prides itself on being “the only awards ceremony in the world where hip-hop sits alongside opera; literature alongside stand-up comedy and TV alongside architecture.”

Tim Minchin’s hit musical Matilda, adapted from the children’s book by Roald Dahl, won the theatre award, beating comedy One Man, Two Guvnors and quirky romance Constellations.

Kate Bush’s latest album, 50 Words for Snow, triumphed over Adele’s multi-Grammy winner 21 and PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake in the pop music category.

We Need to Talk about Kevin, adapted from the novel by Lionel Shriver, was named best film ahead of Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block and Formula One documentary Senna, while Channel 4’s university-set series, Fresh Meat, beat Twenty Twelve and Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle to the comedy prize. Author Michael Frayn won the outstanding achievement award.

Watch coverage of The South Bank Sky Arts Awards tonight from 9pm on Sky Arts 1

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