RTÉ joins Sky, the BBC and Amazon Prime in the Nominees List for this year’s Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence

The Celtic Media Festival has today unveiled the full list of nominees for this year’s Torc Awards for Excellence. Set to take place from 7th – 9th June in the stunning medieval city of Quimper, Brittany, France, this year’s shortlist includes Sky TV’s romantic fantasy A Discovery of Witches for the coveted title of Best Drama Series. The time-travelling thriller is nominated alongside Amazon Prime’s multi-language drama 3 Caminos, while BBC lead the way with one of the most talked-about programmes of the year: Line of Duty, the anxiety-fuelled series Vigil starring Surranne Jones; and BBC Scotland’s dark comic drama Guilt.

RTÉ nominations include The Tommy Tiernan Show Back to Barrytown, RTÉ Investigates – Who Am I? The Story of Ireland’s Illegal Adoptions, The Hunger, Bloody Sunday 1920, and Dear Gay.

In radio, Documentary on One: Miracle in Galway Bay is nominated alongside 100 Years, 100 Miles, and Miracle in Galway Bay, also for Documentary on One. Both Women of Honour and The Rolling Wave are nominated (RTÉ Radio 1), and there are two nominations for Drama on One, No Love Lost by Dylan Tighe, and Personal Space by Mairéad Kierna. Bladhaire and Iris Aniar are nominated for RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, which is also shortlisted for Station of the Year. RnaG’s Michelle Nic Grianna is nominated for Radio Presenter of the Year, alongside Ifan Evans (BBC Radio Cymru), Kaye Adams (BBC Radio Scotland), and Marcial Mouzo (Radio Galega).

BBC Scotland’s Killing Escobar, an enthralling documentary exploring an attempted assassination of the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, is nominated in the hotly contested Feature Documentary category, as well as RTÉ’s harrowing The Hunger: The Story of the Irish Famine and five other stellar nominees from across Brittany, Ireland and Wales.

Elsewhere, excellence in journalism is celebrated in the Current Affairs category as one of the Welsh Police’s most challenging investigations is examined in Llofruddiaeth Michael O’Leary. BBC Scotland’s Disclosure: Desperately Seeking Asylum asks whether the current system of support for those seeking refuge in Scotland is effective; while whistleblower Tom Clonan’s shocking unveiling of discriminatiion within the Irish Defence Forces is explored in Misneach – Tom Clonan; and S4C conducts a landmark investigation into the workings of the Welsh Government in Prif Weinidog mewn Pandemig.

Catriona Logan, Festival Director, said: “This year’s nominee list is as strong in quality and representation as it is diverse in content, with some absolutely incredible nominees across all categories. From big budget productions, to more intimate works, the nominees for the Torc Awards for Excellence for 2022, are truly representative of the skill and ingenuity of our content creators. We’re so happy to be taking the Awards to Quimper for the first time in 20 years, with a group of nominees that are as high quality as any in our history.”

Nominees featured in the festival’s breadth of Radio categories include BBC Scotland’s Kaye Adams for Radio Presenter of the Year; BBC NI’s What Happens in Ulster for best Radio Comedy; and Radio Galega, BBC Radio Cymru and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta in the hotly contended shortlist for Radio Station of the Year in a competitive shortlist that includes BBC Radio Foyle, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Radio Wales and Raidió na Life.

BBC Wales’ disquieting examination of justice unserved and the police pursuit of innocent men: A Killing In Tiger Bay, is nominated for best Best Factual Series against nominations from across the all the Celtic nations, while Ireland lead the way in the Factual Entertainment category with two out of four nominations.

The Celtic Media Festival, now in its 43rd year, will take place as originally planned for 2020 in the picturesque city of Quimper, founded on 2000 years of history along the river Odet – nicknamed the prettiest river of France. A major tourist city, Quimper is considered the cultural capital of Breton and is home to a National Theatre, as well as some of the region’s best music, dancing groups, architecture and cuisine. Last in Quimper in 2002, Celtic Media Festival is delighted to return to Brittany in 2022.

See the full list of nominations here: Celtic Media Festival