Little Britain Wins Top TV Awards

The Swiss are a funny lot. Every year they have a big television festival, and every year British shows do well. But it’s always rubbish programmes that win.

The Festival Rose D’Or is a highly prestigious entertainment television awards ceremony that looks at television output from the whole world. So, in theory, the winners make the best television in the world. Little Britain (DVDs) won big at the weekend, taking the awards for Best Comedy and Best Comedy Performance. They’re top of the world!

Other British winners included Nighty Night, Peter Kay (DVDs), My Family and Strictly Come Dancing.

Wait. Are they seriously suggesting that a programme about dancing newsreaders is the best entertainment in the world?

We’ll reiterate: the Swiss are a funny lot. They have a history of making some weird choices. In 1989, for example, Hale and Pace won the highest award. But maybe that was just a fluke. A one-off oversight, right?

Well, no. The Paul Daniels Easter Magic Show won it in 1985. Pop Idol has won it. Mr Bean has won it. Lenny Henry In Pieces has won it. Last year, My New Best Friend won Best Gameshow. Remember that show? Anyone?

Entertainment television is a neglected area when it comes to awards. Like the Oscars, who tend to ignore comedy, most television awards focus on drama and documentary. So the Rose D’Or
awards should be encouraged. And it also acts as a huge marketplace,
where broadcasters can buy ideas from other countries. Again, a good
idea.

But the judges should choose more carefully next time. In the year
2025, it’s almost guaranteed that people will look back and say "Little Britain? That show where the two blokes do exactly the same thing every episode? Why did that win?", before adding "Oh look, President Daniels won the award in 1985".

[story by Stuart Heritage]