TV awards:
Derry Girls stars to battle it out with Blue Lights and Jamie Dornan
TWO former Derry Girls will be battling it out with the PSNI and a couple of tourists for top TV accolades, after the National Television Awards (NTAS) longlist was published.
The Drama Performance category sees Nicola Coughlan’s Penelope Featherington from Bridgerton face fellow Derry Girl Louisa Harland, who plays Nell Jackson in Renegade Nell.
Also nominated are Sian Brooke, who plays Grace Ellis in Belfast-based police drama Blue Lights, and Co Down star Jamie Dornan, for his role as Elliot Stanley in The Tourist.
Dornan’s co-star Danielle Macdonald, who plays Helen Chambers in the same drama, has also been nominated in the same category.
Actress Jessica Gunning and creator-turned-star Richard Gadd also received nods for best drama performance for hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer.
They face David Tennant, for his brief return to Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary episodes, and Ncuti Gatwa, who took over the role as the 15th Time Lord. Anne Reid and Timothy Spall were also nominated for their roles in The Sixth Commandment, which explores the deaths of Ann Moore-martin and Peter Farquhar in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire.
Actors Katherine Kelly, Monica Dolan, and Toby Jones were also all nominated in the same category for ITV drama Mr
Bates vs The Post Office, which led to renewed attention on justice for subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.
The Returning Drama section also sees The Tourist face off against Blue Lights and Bridgerton. Cat Deeley, wife of Co Down comedian Paddy Kielty, is up for the TV presenter award.
She is up against Good Morning Britain star Kate Garraway, who has been nominated in three categories.
Also in the running are former This Morning star Holly Willoughby and new This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Deeley, as well as Love Island presenter Maya Jama and Strictly Come Dancing co-hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
Baby Reindeer, The Sixth Commandment, and Mr Bates vs The Post Office are all competing in the best new drama category, opposite Steve Coogan’s portrayal of Jimmy Savile in The Reckoning and Michelle Keegan’s Fool Me Once.
The authored documentary category will also see married couple Coleen and Wayne Rooney face off for the prize.
Coleen is nominated for her Disney+ series about the “Wagatha Christie” trial with fellow footballer’s wife Rebekah Vardy, while Wayne received a nod for his Prime Video film about the life of the former Manchester United and England captain.
The NTA shortlist will be revealed in August when the final round of voting begins. Comedian Joel Dommett will return to host the TV awards on September 11 at London’s O2 arena, broadcast live on ITV and ITVX.