As Miriam Margolyes scoops lifetime achievement

 Bridget Christie, John-Luke Roberts and Miriam Margolyes are among the winners of this year’s BBC Audio Drama Awards.

Christie won the comedy prize for Mortal, her Radio 4 series taking about some of life’s more difficult questions, while Miriam Margolyes was the recipient of the lifetime achievement Award

Meanwhile, John-Luke Roberts’ Sounds Heap won the best sketch comedy category – a rare achievement for a podcast in an awards dominated by BBC radio programming.

The programme featured Roberts and a host of comedy talents improvising fictional podcasts, which were then spliced down into a single half-hour show by producer Ed Morrish of Lead Mojo.

The other comedians involved were  Cariad Lloyd, Charlie George, Deborah Frances-White, Gareth Gwynn, Katherine Parkinson, Katy Brand, Ken Cheng, Kieran Hodgson, Paddy Gervers, Ruth Bratt, Saima Ferdows, Sooz Kempner, Amy Gledhill & Chris Cantrill, Tom Allen, Tom Neenan and Toussaint Douglass.

Radio 4’s departing commissioning editor for comedy, Sioned Wiliam won the outstanding contribution award.

During her time, she has welcomed new talents to the station including Rosie Jones, Daliso Chaponda, Alex Edelman, Lost Voice Guy and Mae Martin  while providing new vehicles for the likes of Alexei Sayle, French and Saunders, Bill Bailey, Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam.

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s chief content officer, said: ‘Tonight’s awards recognise how all of the talented individuals - both in front of and behind the microphones and mixing desks -  make audio the booming medium it is today.

‘Thank you for your commitment to this wonderful genre, and for delighting the millions of listeners who tune in, week after week.’

The awards were presented at the BBC Radio Theatre in London at a ceremony hosted by Andy Zaltzman, with a live audience for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Accepting her trophy via video link from Australia, Margolyes said: 'I cannot tell you have thrilled I am to be given this award. I’ve done my best work in radio, I shall love it til I die.'

Full list of winners

Best Actor

Edmund Davies, The Pursuits of Darleen Fyles, director Pauline Harris for BBC Radio 4

Best Actress

Juliet Aubrey, Dead Weather, director Nicolas Jackson, Afonica for BBC Radio 4

Best Supporting Performance

Claire Price, Dead Weather, director Nicolas Jackson, Afonica for BBC Radio 4

The Marc Beeby Award for Best Debut Performance

Saran Morgan, Release, director John Norton BBC Radio 4

Best Original Single Drama

Dead Weather by Hattie Naylor, producer Nicolas Jackson, Afonica for BBC Radio 4

Best Adaptation

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, adapted by Ayeesha Menon, producers Nadir Khan & Ayeesha Menon, Goldhawk Productions for BBC Radio 4

Best Original Series or Serial   

Life Lines by Al Smith, producer Sally Avens for BBC Radio 4 

Best Scripted Comedy (Longform)

Bridget Christie: Mortal by Bridget Christie, producer Carl Cooper, BBC Studios for BBC Radio 4

Best Scripted Comedy (Sketch Show)

Sound Heap by John-Luke Roberts, with Cariad Lloyd, Charlie George, Deborah Frances-White, Gareth Gwynn, Katherine Parkinson, Katy Brand, Ken Cheng, Kieran Hodgson, Paddy Gervers, Ruth Bratt, Saima Ferdows, Sooz Kempner, Amy Gledhill & Chris Cantrill, Tom Allen, Tom Neenan and Toussaint Douglass, producer Ed Morrish, Lead Mojo

Best Use of Sound

The Meaning of Zong, sound by Jon Nicholls, Jonquil Panting, Giles Terera, producer Jonquil Panting, Jonx Productions for BBC Radio 3

Best European Drama

The Lion by Martin Algus, adapted by Andres Noormets, producer Andres Noormets, ERR Estonian Public Broadcasting

Best Podcast or Online Audio Drama

Passenger List Series 2 by John Scott Dryden, Lauren Shipman, Meghan Fitzmartin, Janina Matthewson, Sarah Lotz, Mark Henry Phillips, producers John Scott Dryden and Emma Hearn, Goldhawk Productions for BBC Radio 4

Lifetime Achievement

Miriam Margolyes

Outstanding Contribution

Sioned Wiliam

Imison Award 2022

The Lemonade Lads by Faebian Averies, producer James Robinson for BBC Radio 4

Tinniswood Award 2022

Blis-ta by Sonya Hale, producer Mimi Findlay, Clean Break for Spotify

Published: 25 Mar 2022