BBC Studios’ Bristol-based Unscripted Productions and the hard-hitting made-in-Bristol drama Three Girls were the big winners at the region’s largest annual celebration of TV excellence, scooping 12 awards between them.
Also tasting success at the Royal Television Society (RTS) West of England Awards were perennial victors the BBC’s Natural History Unit while Sherrie Eugene-Hart, HTV weather girl-turned-presenter, author and businesswoman, received the Ambrose Fleming Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to television in the region. 
Sherrie, arguably one of the region’s best-known faces in broadcasting, was one of the first people to use sign language on British TV and has signed for a host of broadcasters and community and charitable causes.
Guests at the sparkling event at the Bristol Old Vic included Nick Knowles and Mark Millar from DIY SOS, presenters Kate Humble, Gillian Burke, Patrick Aryee, Monty Halls and the three female leads from critically acclaimed BBC One drama Three Girls (Molly Windsor, Liv Hill and Ria Zmitrowicz) as well as Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees and the Lord-Lieutenant of Bristol Peaches Golding.
BBC Studios Unscripted Productions emerged the biggest winner, landing seven awards for a range of its shows including Extreme Wives with Kate Humble in the Best Documentary category, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure for Factual Entertainment and Steve Brown from Countryfile for New On-Screen Talent, plus a few craft awards for Drugsland, the gritty documentary shot on the streets of Bristol.
The drama categories were dominated by Three Girls (BBC Studios in association with Studio Lambert), based on the Rochdale child sexual abuse scandal. It took home five awards including Best Drama, Editor, Cinematography, Director and Composer.
BBC Studios The Natural History Unit received three awards for landmark series Blue Planet II and an award for Children’s for its CBBC series The Zoo.
However Keo West, the Bristol-based regional arm of the national TV, film and video production Keo, triumphed in the Natural History category for its film Rise of the Warrior Apes, about an extraordinary troop of chimpanzees in Ngogo, Uganda.
In News, Fiona Lamdin of BBC Points West was awarded best News Reporter for ‘her persistence and skill in instilling confidence in her contributors’. BBC West’s Inside Out won for News Coverage for its ‘powerful, original journalism, which made a real difference’.
The awards were held in association with title sponsor Evolutions Bristol and the gala ceremony was hosted by comedy actress Kerry Howard (Witless, Him and Her).
Other sponsors included BBC Studios Unscripted Productions, BBC Studios The Natural History Unit, ITV West Country, Films at 59, Doghouse Post Production, Icon Films, The Bottle Yard Studios and Bristol Film Office, UWE, Hotel du Vin & Bistro, Evans, AxisVFX and Wall to Wall West. Click here for a full list of all the winners.
Pictured: Sherrie Eugene-Hart with her Ambrose Fleming Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to television in the region
