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The 2017 Shortlist

The shortlist for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2017 has been revealed, with David Tennant, Romola Garai, Glenda Jackson and The Archers all nominated. Winners will be announced in a ceremony at the BBC Radio Theatre on 29 January 2017, hosted by Sir Lenny Henry.

The awards recognise the cultural significance, range and originality of audio drama, on air as well as online, and credit the creativity of the actors, writers, producers, sound designers and others who work within the field.

Each category is judged by a team of industry experts including actress Alison Steadman, journalist Baz Bamigboye, and producer Piers Plowright. Finalists will be announced on 3 January 2017. Now in its sixth year, the Audio Drama Awards have previously recognised such luminaries as John Hurt, Neil Gaiman, Sir Ian McKellen and June Whitfield.

Best Single Drama

  • A Play for the Heart by Nick Warburton, producer Marion Nancarrow
  • Bright Spark by Eve Davies, producer Gary Brown
  • Comment is Free by James Fritz, producer Becky Ripley
  • Jump Blue by Hannah Silva, producers Nicolas Jackson & Steve Bond
  • The Rage by Clare Lizzimore, producer Jonquil Panting
  • The Sky is Wider by Linda Marshall Griffiths, producer Nadia Molinari

Best Audio Drama (Series)

  • The Archers (Helen’s trial week) by Tim Stimpson, editor Sean O’Connor
  • Keeping the wolf out by Philip Palmer, producer Toby Swift
  • Life Lines by Al Smith, producer Sally Avens
  • Pilgrim by Sebastian Baczkiewicz, producers Jessica Dromgoole & Marc Beeby
  • School Drama by Andy Mulligan, producers John Dryden & Emma Hearn
  • Tracks by Matthew Broughton, producers James Robinson, Helen Perry & Abigail le Fleming

Best Adaptation

  • Emile Zola: Blood, Sex and Money adapted by Oliver Emanuel, Martin Jameson, Lavinia Murray & Dan Rebellato, producers Gary Brown, Pauline Harris, Nadia Molinari, Polly Thomas, Kirsty Williams
  • Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, adapted & directed by Howard Davies, producer Chris Wallis
  • Miss Julie by Strindberg, adapted & produced by Roger James Elsgood
  • Roald Dahl: Going Solo adapted by Lucy Catherine, producer Helen Perry
  • The 56, verbatim, edited & adapted by Matt Woodhead & Gemma Wilson, producer Toby Swift
  • True West by Sam Shepard, adapted by John Peacock, producer Celia de Wolff
  • Unmade Movies: Hitchcock’s The Blind Man by Alfred Hitchcock & Ernest Lehman, adapted by Mark Gatiss, producers Laurence Bowen & Peter Ettedgui

Best Actor

  • Danny Sapani, A Raisin in the Sun
  • David Tennant, Look Back in Anger
  • Lars Mikkelsen, Miss Julie
  • Paul Hilton, Pilgrim
  • Robert Lindsay, A Play for the Heart
  • Stephen Rea, De Profundis
  • Timothy Watson, The Archers

Best Actress

  • Christine Bottomley, The Sky is Wider
  • Fiona Shaw, Jump Blue
  • Glenda Jackson, Blood, Sex and Money by Emile Zola
  • Hattie Morahan, The Life and Loves of a She Devil
  • Louiza Patikas, The Archers
  • Pippa Haywood, Tess in Winter
  • Romola Garai, Tracks

Best Supporting Actor/Actress

  • Anton Lesser, Home Front
  • Bill Paterson, King Lear
  • Clare Corbett, Keeping the wolf out
  • Joe Sims, Life Lines
  • Joseph Kloska, Bram Stoker’s Dracula
  • Ralph Ineson, Black Dog
  • Valene Kane, The Stroma Sessions

Best Debut Performance from an actor or actress

  • Christina Ritter, North
  • Daisy Tompkinson, My Brilliant Friend
  • Izobel Ward, Just a Girl
  • Katie West, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
  • Laura Elsworthy, The Skriker
  • Lee Rufford, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

Best Use of Sound

  • Comment is Free, sound by Iain Hunter, producer Becky Ripley
  • Jane Eyre, sound by Caleb Knightley, producer Tracey Neale
  • Mary Rose, sound by Peter Ringrose, Ross Burman, Alison Craig, producer Abigail le Fleming
  • The Hunting of the Snark, sound by Steve Brooke, producer Charlotte Riches
  • The Sky is Wider, sound by Steve Brooke, producer Nadia Molinari
  • Tracks, sound by Nigel Lewis, producers James Robinson, Helen Perry & Abigail le Fleming

Best Scripted Comedy

  • Couples by Julia Davis & Marc Wootton, producer Ashley Blaker
  • DOT: The Mystery at St. Horribly-Vulture’s School for Boys by Ed Harris, producer Jessica Mitic
  • Guilt Trip by Felicity Montagu, Olivia Nixon & Katherine Jakeways, producer Jane Berthoud
  • Lewis Macleod’s Wired News by John McGlade, Gabby Hutchison-Crouch, Neil Bratchpiece, Dale Shaw, Richard Cray, Steven Dick, Stuart Docherty, Stephen Holford, Kieron Nicholson, John Sheerman, Dan Sweryt, Stephen Mawhinney, Stu Cooper, producer Gus Beattie
  • Love in Recovery by Pete Jackson, producer Ben Worsfield
  • Secret Kebabs by Christine Entwisle, producer Kirsty Williams
  • The Strange Vanishing of Julian Quark by Tom Wainwright, producer Sasha Yevtushenko

Best Comedy with a Live Audience

  • Josh Howie’s Losing It by Josh Howie, producer Ashley Blaker
  • Mae Martin’s Guide to 21st Century Sexuality by Mae Martin, producer Alex Smith
  • Mark Steel’s in Town: Stockport by Mark Steel, producer Carl Cooper
  • Penny Dreadfuls Presents: Homer’s Odyssey by David Reed, Humphrey Ker & Thom Tuck, producer Julia McKenzie
  • Robert Newman's Entirely Accurate Encyclopaedia of Evolution by Rob Newman, producer Jonathan Harvey
  • Tom Wrigglesworth’s Hang Ups by Tom Wrigglesworth, James Kettle & Miles Jupp, producer Richard Morris
  • The Pin by Alex Owen & Ben Ashenden, producer Sam Bryant

Best Online/non Broadcast

  • Alien – Out of the Shadows, Audible UK
  • Baker’s End: The King of Cats, Bafflegab Productions
  • Carmilla, Audible UK
  • Doctor Who: Absent Friends, Big Finish Productions
  • Doctor Who: Death and the Queen, Big Finish Productions
  • Torchwood: More Than This, Big Finish Productions