BAFTA glory for C4 Paralympics coverage

The London 2012 Paralympics triumphed over last year’s Olympics in the Award for Sport and Live Events coverage at the BAFTA Television Awards on Sunday (12 May). Channel 4’s presentation, produced by IMG and Sunset+Vine, took the honour over the BBC’s production of both the Olympics Opening Ceremony and ‘Super Saturday’, as well as the broadcast of the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Final.

The Paralympics and Olympics were brought together by presenter Clare Balding receiving one of two Special Awards. Balding had already made her name working on the BBC’s racing broadcasts but it was fronting both the Olympics (for the BBC) and the Paralympics (C4) that has brought her to wider public attention and acclaim. She is now a regular presenter for C4 Racing and last week was among the big names unveiled by BT Sport for its line-up of programmes.

The Olympics did receive some Awards attention but not in the way the organiser might necessarily have liked. The satirical comedy Twenty Twelve, a fictionalised account of the trials and tribulations of organising the Games, picked up two awards: Best Situation Comedy, and Best TV Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for Olivia Colman.