Sean Bean wins award for transvestite role

Sean Bean's portrayal of a cross-dressing teacher has landed him a best actor title at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.

The actor, who has played numerous gritty roles and made his name in the Napoleonic drama Sharpe, wore a mini-skirt, make-up and a blonde wig for the gripping performance in courtroom drama The Accused.

Olivia Colman was named best actress at the awards bash for her performance in the same BBC One series.

There was also a double win for BBC One's Sherlock, which was named best drama series and its creator Steven Moffatt was named best drama writer.

And last summer's sporting achievements were recognised with a string of awards. The BBC's coverage of the Olympics was named best live event, while Clare Balding landed the prize for best presenter for her work on London 2012. David Gordon, the BBC supremo who oversaw the corporation's Olympics coverage, was given a lifetime achievement award.

Film-maker Danny Boyle picked up one of the two honorary judges' awards for his work on creating the opening ceremony.

Channel 4's Paralympics coverage took the other judges' award and BBC Two's spoof series about preparations for the Olympics, Twenty Twelve, helped Jessica Hynes to the best comedy performance prize.

Ant and Dec took the best entertainment performance prize for a third consecutive year for their role as hosts of ITV's I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!, while ITV2's Celebrity Juice was named best entertainment show.

Coronation Street - which this week was rocked by a fireball engulfing the Rovers Return - was named best soap for a second year on the run.

BBC One crime thriller Good Cop took the best drama serial title, and BBC Two's Richard II, part of the Hollow Crown trilogy which starred Ben Whishaw as the King, was best single drama.

The awards were held at London's Grosvenor House in a ceremony hosted by comic Jo Brand.

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.