Excellence in religious broadcasting was celebrated recently at the Sandford St Martin Awards.
The Sandford St Martin Trust looks to promote thought-provoking, distinctive programming that engages with religion of all faiths, ethics or morality, and is chaired by the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley.
The annual awards celebrate the best of religious and spiritual broadcasting throughout the year, with this year’s winners including the BBC’s ‘Panorama: Is the Church Racist?’, and a Trustees’ Award for Sir Lenny Henry for his work addressing inequality and under-representation in broadcasting.
About this year’s awards, Bishop Helen-Ann said: “It was a joy to host last night’s Sandford St Martin Awards held at Christ Church Spitalfields.
“This was the first in-person ceremony since 2019, and show-cased the very best of broadcasting in religion, ethics and spirituality across diverse genres.
“This year’s awards highlighted some powerful story-telling, and provoked, challenged and inspired in so many ways.
“From racism in the Church, to stories about monasticism and how a young Muslim woman had re-connected with her faith, the evening reminded us how much religion lies at the heart of our common life.
“It was particularly moving also to give Trustee awards to Rukhshana Media, an Afghan news agency led by and for the women of Afghanistan, and to Sir Lenny Henry for his work in the field of diversity in broadcasting.
“In a time when public service broadcasting is under threat, with the future of Channel 4 and the BBC under particular analysis, the Sandford St Martin trust will continue to advocate strongly for public service media.
“My congratulations to all who were shortlisted and to the winners of these prestigious awards.”
A full list of winners can be found here.