# 1996 British Academy Television Awards

The 1996 British Academy Television Awards were held on 21 April 1996 at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane followed by dinner in The Great Room, Grosvenor House Hotel, as a joint ceremony with the British Academy Film Awards.

## Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface; the nominees are listed below.
| Best Drama Series | Best Drama Serial |
| Cracker (ITV) All Quiet on the Preston Front (BBC) A Touch of Frost (ITV Productions / ITV) Prime Suspect 4: The Lost Child (ITV) | The Politician's Wife (Channel 4) Pride and Prejudice (BBC1) Band of Gold (ITV) The Hanging Gale (BBC1) |
| Best Actor | Best Actress |
| Robbie Coltrane – Cracker (ITV) Robert Lindsay – Jake's Progress (Channel 4) Ian Richardson – The Final Cut (BBC) Colin Firth – Pride and Prejudice (BBC1) Benjamin Whitrow – Pride and Prejudice (BBC1) | Jennifer Ehle – Pride and Prejudice (BBC1) Juliet Stevenson – The Politician's Wife (Channel 4) Helen Mirren – Prime Suspect 4: The Lost Child (ITV) Geraldine James – Band of Gold (ITV) |
| Best Comedy (Programme or Series) | Best Comedy Performance |
| Father Ted (Hat Trick Productions / Channel 4) Absolutely Fabulous (BBC / BBC1) Men Behaving Badly (Hartswood Films / BBC1) One Foot in the Grave (BBC / BBC1) | Martin Clunes – Men Behaving Badly (BBC1) Joanna Lumley – Absolutely Fabulous (BBC1) Judi Dench – As Time Goes By Richard Wilson – One Foot in the Grave |
| Best Single Drama | Best Factual Series |
| Persuasion (BBC / WGBH / BBC Films) Eleven Men Against Eleven (Hat Trick Productions / Channel 4) Go Now (BBC) Heroes and Villains: The Last Englishman (Tiger Aspect Productions / BBC) | The Death of Yugoslavia – Norma Percy Dispatches – David Lloyd Network First – Stuart Prebble, John Blake The Private Life of Plants – Mike Salisbury |
| Best Light Entertainment Performance | Best Light Entertainment Programme or Series |
| Rory Bremner – Rory Bremner - Who Else? Paul Merton – Have I Got News for You Caroline Aherne – The Mrs Merton Show Peter Ustinov – An Evening with Sir Peter Ustinov | The Mrs Merton Show (Granada Television / BBC1) Have I Got News for You (Hat Trick Productions / BBC2) Rory Bremner - Who Else? (Kudos Film & Television / Channel 4) Shooting Stars (BBC2) |
| Best News Coverage | Best Talk Show |
| Channel 4 News Coverage Of War Crimes In Former Yugoslavia – Production Team BBC1 News Coverage On Bosnia – Martin Bell BBC2 Newsnight – Peter Horrocks ITN Coverage Of The War In Chechnya – Production Team | Martin Bashir and Mike Robinson – Panorama: "An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales" (BBC / BBC1) * The award was returned in May 2021. Anne Marie Thorogood and Dan Patterson – Clive Anderson Talks Back (Hat Trick Productions / Channel 4) Patsy Newey, Esther Rantzen, and Jane Elsdon-Dew – Esther (BBC / BBC2) Jeff Anderson – This Morning (Granada Television / ITV) |
| Flaherty Award for Single Documentary | Huw Wheldon Award for Arts Programme or Series |
| The Betrayed - Russian Invasion of Chechnya (October Films / Channel 4) Anne Frank Remembered (Anne Frank House / Walt Disney Pictures / BBC) The Dying Rooms (Lauderdale Productions / Channel 4) | Children of the Revolution – John Wyver, David Hinton Arena – Peter Lydon The Homecoming – Archie Baron A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies – Florence Dauman |
| Best Sports / Events Coverage in Real Time | Foreign Programme Award |
| Peter Hylton Cleaver, Neil Eccles and Philip S. Gilbert and Team – VE Day Coverage (BBC) Jane Garrod – Cheltenham Gold Cup Andy Melvin, Tony Mills – Super Sunday - The Final Day Of The Premiership Neil Eccles, Simon Betts, Philip S Gilbert – VJ-50 Live: The Final Tribute | ER |
| Best Children's Programme - Factual | Best Children's Programme - Fiction or Entertainment |
| Short Change – Roy Milani Art Attack – Tim Edmunds, Neil Buchanan How 2 – Adrian Edwards, Jeremy Cross Wise Up – Mick Robertson, Julian Kemp | Coping with Christmas – Sue Nott, Dan Zeff, Peter Corey Byker Grove – Matthew Robinson, Tim Leandro, Brian B Thompson Jackanory – Maggie Barbour The Ward – Kieran Roberts, Beryl Richards |
| The Lew Grade Award | The Dennis Potter Award |
| Antiques Roadshow | Roy Clarke |
| The Alan Clarke Award | The Richard Dimbleby Award |
| Roy Battersby | Jeremy Paxman |
| Lloyds Bank People's Vote For The Most Popular Television Programme | Originality |
| The X Files | Aardman Animation – Nick Park |

### Craft Awards

| Best Costume Design | Best Original Television Music |
| Persuasion – Alexandra Byrne The Hanging Gale – Howard Burden Pride and Prejudice – Dinah Collin Performance: Henry IV – Joan Wadge | Persuasion – 'Jeremy Sams Signs and Wonders – Daemion Barry The Hanging Gale – Shaun Davey Cracker – Rick Wentworth |
| Best Design | Best Make-Up |
| Persuasion – William Dudley, Brian Sykes The Buccaneers – Tony Burrough The Hanging Gale – Tim Hutchinson Cold Comfort Farm – Malcolm Thornton | Cold Comfort Farm – Dorka Nieradzik Pride and Prejudice – Caroline Noble Persuasion – Jean Speak Cotham: The Buccaneers – Christine Walmesley |
| Best Photography - Factual | Best Photography and Lighting - Fiction |
| True Stories: The Betrayed – Jacek Petrycki Wildlife: Great White Shark - The True Story Of Jaws (Special) – Paul Atkins, Peter, Scoones, Doug Allen Secret Asia: The Dying Rooms – Peter Hugh, Brian Woods The Homecoming – Jacek Petrycki | Persuasion – John Daly The Politician's Wife – Tom McDougal McCallum – Brian Morgan Prime Suspect – David Odd |
| Best Editing - Factual | Best Editing - Fiction/Entertainment |
| True Stories: The Betrayed – Graham Shrimpton The Private Life of Plants – Tim Coope, Jo Payne, Martin Elsbury The Beatles Anthology – Andy Matthews HMS Brilliant – Andy Willsmore, Tony Heavan | Love Bites: Go Now – Trevor Waite The Politician's Wife – Alan Jones Cracker – Edward Mansell The Buccaneers – Greg Miller |
| Best Sound - Factual | Best Sound - Fiction/Entertainment |
| The Beatles Anthology – Howie Nicol, Richard King, Andy Matthews, Danny Longhurst HMS Brilliant – Adrian Bell, Tony Anscombe, Trish Stephenson, Gary McIntyre True Stories: The Betrayed – Patrick Bolland, Michael Narduzzo The Private Life of Plants – Trevor Gosling, Lucy Rutherford, Martin Harries, Peter Hicks | Love Bites: Loved Up – John Taylor, Craig Irving, Tim Hudnott, Pete Collins, Chris Graver Four Goes To Glyndebourne: Ermione – John Middleton, Andy Rose The Choir – Derek Norman, Chris Graver, Keith Marriner Prime Suspect – Nick Steer, John Rutherford, John Senior, John Whitworth |
| Best Graphic Design |
| BBC2 Christmas Animations – Iain Greenway, Jane Wyatt BBC1 Winter Animations – Mark Chaudoir, Paula Williams Have I Got News For You – Tim Searle American Football: Blitz – Susan Young Limited |

### Special Awards

* Camera Team – Survival
* BBC