The past 12 months of television have, in one word, been superb, if we do say so ourselves. From thought-provoking dramas, laugh-out-loud comedies and everything in between, the small screen has been the home of some truly outstanding content over the past year.

Announced last month (30 March), the Virgin Media Bafta TV Award nominations paid homage to some of the very best TV of the past year – a task we don’t envy one bit. Leading the list with a staggering 11 nominations was Channel 4 series It’s A Sin, which was written and created by Queer As Folk and Doctor Who screenwriter Russell T Davies.

Well now, the winners of this year’s Craft Awards – which celebrate the very best of behind-the-scenes television talent – have finally been announced at a ceremony held last night (24 April). Leading the pack of winners were two of our most beloved shows: Sky’s Landscapers and Channel 4’s We Are Lady Parts.

Landscapers, the Olivia Colman drama mini-series inspired by the story of a couple whose crime of killing her parents remained undiscovered for over a decade, was successful in three categories: Arthur Sharpe for Original Music; Erik Wilson for Photography & Lighting: Fiction; and Cristina Casali, Robert Wischhusen-Hayes, Fabrice Spelta for Production Design.

We Are Lady Parts, the trailblazing musical comedy about a Muslim female punk band, also won three awards: creator and first-time nominee Nida Manzoor collected her first Bafta for Writer: Comedy; PC Williams won Costume Design and Aisha Bywaters won for Scripted Casting.

It’s A Sin, the 1980s set drama about five friends living in the shadow of AIDS, received two awards: Peter Hoar won Director: Fiction and Sarah Brewerton won Editing: Fiction.

The series follows a group of friends during the 1980s Aids crisis in London and was hailed for its factual – yet very emotive – exploration of an underrepresented topic. It went on to become Channel 4’s most watched drama in its history and had such a profound impact on everyone who watched it, it’s no surprise that it’s been recognised in this year’s main Bafta TV nominations. 

The heartbreaking drama, which starred Years & Years’ Olly Alexander, has come out on top of this year’s Bafta TV nominations. Alexander has been nominated in the leading actor category, while Davies has picked up another nomination in the writer (drama) category. Lydia West, who played standout star Jill in It’s A Sin, has also been nominated in the leading actress category.

Joining her in that nomination is first-time Bafta TV nominee Kate Winslet, for her performance in HBO/Sky Atlantic’s Mare of Easttown. The dark police drama followed Mare, a tired and resolute detective, who is investigating a mysterious murder. While the drama has scooped up an impressive 16 Emmy Award nominations, this is actually the first Bafta TV nomination Winslet has ever gotten. 

The second-most nominated TV series in this year’s Bafta TV awards is dark true crime drama Landscapers, which starred Olivia Colman and David Thewlis as Susan and Christopher Edwards and has seven nominations.

The well-known 1998 murder case is the basis of the drama which follows the timid couple as they move abroad. They’re asked to return home, though, when the police find the bodies of Susan’s parents in their back garden. It’s a truly perplexing series which, as well as being beautifully shot, provided an oddly emotional insight into the couple themselves.

Landscapers’ nominations include for director (fiction), original music, leading actor and mini-series categories. 

Also bagging a total of six nominations is Jack Thorne’s tense Covid-19 drama Help, which starred Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer and Boiling Point’s Stephen Graham. Graham has a total of two nominations himself – for his Channel 4 performance and for his role in BBC One’s gritty prison drama Time.

We Are Lady Parts – the comedy we just can’t get enough of – also has six nominations while Netflix’s Sex Education has five. 

The hit drama of last Christmas was undoubtedly A Very British Scandal and the series has a total of four nominations at this year’s Bafta TV awards. The BBC series starred The Crown’s Claire Foy and WandaVision’s Paul Bettany as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll but the historical series was more than a retelling of a public divorce scandal, it was an apt representation of misogyny at the time with a sex-positive message at its core.

In the drama series stakes, BBC’s Vigil – which starred Remarkable Women Award winner Suranne Jones – has also been nominated, alongside ITV’s twisted crime drama Unforgotten.

If there was ever a nomination list that made us proud of the impeccable television that’s available to watch, it’s this one. We can’t wait to see who will take home each coveted TV award in a couple of months.

The winners of the main Virgin Media Bafta TV Awards will be revealed at a ceremony on 8 May.

Image: Getty