The Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) is a British association of journalists dedicated to the topic of general media issues.

History

The Guild was established in 1974 as a breakaway of The Critics' Circle and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. Its membership includes more than 100 staff and freelance journalists who write and broadcast about TV, radio, streaming and the media for UK national newspapers, specialist journals and online outlets. One of the Guild's most recognized activities is the hosting of luncheons where leading industry figures are engaged in dialogue. The Guild has entertained most

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

director-generals and chairs and government ministers responsible for broadcasting along with a wide range of top executives from TV and radio channels in the UK and overseas. Previous lunch speakers include

Sally Wainwright Sally Anne Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director. She is known for her dramas, which are often set in her native West Yorkshire, and feature "strong female characters". Wainwright has been praised for th ...

, Peter Fincham, David Abraham, Charlotte Moore,

John Whittingdale Sir John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (born 16 October 1959) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon (and its predecessors) since 1992 and Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care sin ...

Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes (; born 12 May 1944), is a British politician who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992, and the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997. He was made a lif ...

Jeremy Hunt Sir Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2022 to 2024 and Foreign Secretary from 2018 to 2019, having previously served as Secretary of State for Health a ...

, Greg Dyke,

Kevin Lygo Kevin Lygo (born 19 September 1957) is a British television Executive (management), executive, currently Director of Television at ITV Network, ITV. Early life Lygo is the son of Royal Navy officer Raymond Lygo. Educated at Cranbrook School, Ken ...

Carolyn McCall Dame Carolyn Julia McCall (born 13 September 1961) is a British businesswoman. She was the chief executive of EasyJet from 2010 to 2017. Early life McCall was born on 13 September 1961 in Bangalore, India. Her Scottish father, Arthur McCal ...

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth (born 8 March 1943) is an English Media proprietor, television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive ...

, Martin Sorrell, Mark Thompson and

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...

Awards

* BPG TV & Radio Awards — Presented annually since 1974 to recognize outstanding programmes and performances in British television and radio, the awards ceremony is considered an important media event in Britain. Since 2010 the sponsors have included Dave,

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

Pact Pact, The Pact or PACT may refer to: Entertainment * The Pact (novel), ''The Pact'' (novel), by Jodi Picoult, 1998 * The Pact (2002 film), ''The Pact'' (2002 film), adaptation of Picoult's ''The Pact (novel)#Film adaptation, The Pact'' * The Pac ...

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

and Prime Video. * Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting — Awarded since 1992 and named after the British journalist Harvey Lee, who was also Secretary and Chairman of the BPG. Recipients include Denis Forman,

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

and Moira Stuart The BPG’s Best Actress winners include

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 1938 – 10 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Tracy Bond, Teresa di ...

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting ...

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, Peggy Ashcroft, Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Redgrave,

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in ''Dinnerladies (TV series), dinnerladies'', a sitcom on BBC One (1998–2000), as List of Shameless (British TV series) characters#Vero ...

, Anne-Marie Duff,

Zoe Wanamaker Zoe or variants may refer to: People * Zoe (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Zoë (British singer) (Zoë Pollock, born 1969) ** Zoë (Austrian singer) (Zoë Straub, born 1996) Arts and entertainment ...

, Gina McKee, Julie Walters,

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

and

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actress of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Le ...

. The BPG Best Actor award has been presented to

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining fame for movie acting during the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' ( ...

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

, Charles Dance,

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Siegf ...

, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Ecclestone,

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Whishaw, various accolades, including three British Academy Television Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...

and Dominic West among others.
Complete list of all the BPG Awards winners, year-by-year

In the news

It is common for major media announcements or changes in policy to be made at the BPG's luncheons. In 2012, Richard Klein, the

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

Controller, announced the network would be pulling broadcasts of ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' re-runs in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal. At the same event, Klein announced that the network had purchased the broadcast rights for the NBC comedy series '' Parks and Recreation''. In a 2012 luncheon, Lord Patten announced that some BBC freelancers, including Fiona Bruce and

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...

, would be offered staff contracts following a review of the BBC's tax arrangements, while at the same time denying that the broadcaster had engaged in tax dodging. During the same event, Patten also broke his silence about the Jimmy Savile scandal, clarifying widespread allegations of a corporate cover-up. Speakers sometimes make news during the annual BPG Awards ceremony. In 2016, the former

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

boss

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...

criticised the lack of gay characters on TV. At a BPG lunch in 2024, Gary Lineker discussed his Goalhanger podcast productions and the controversy over his Twitter pronouncements. To mark its 50th anniversary in 2024, the Guild invited its members to choose their Top 50 Landmark TV Programmes. The top spot went to the ‘7 Up’ series of documentaries started by

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

in 1964.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/ 1974 establishments in the United Kingdom United Kingdom journalism organisations Organizations established in 1974 Business organisations based in London