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BBC Audio Drama Awards 2026

BBC Audio Drama Awards 2026

The yearly BBC Audio Drama Awards celebrate the exceptional range of work being created in the world of audio drama – a medium that we at Jabbervoices are especially proud to champion. We are often asked by actors for our recommendations on what shows are worth listening to. The BBC Audio Drama Awards shortlist, which offers a fascinating cross-section of form, genre, performance and craft is a perfect point of entry for anyone wanting to explore the medium at its very best!

At Jabbervoices, audio drama is not an afterthought. It is a unique, brilliant medium in its own right. Our lead agent Rhys Jennings is a past winner of the BBC Radio’s Carleton Hobbs Bursary, and many artists on our roster are also past winners, runners-up, finalists, or alumni of both this award and the BBC’s other flagship talent pathway, the Norman Beaton Fellowship.

While the BBC is certainly no longer the only organisation pushing boundaries in audio fiction, it remains the largest champion of the form, and these awards exist specifically to acknowledge the artistry and specialist skills of actors, writers, directors, producers, musicians, sound designers and all who contribute to this distinctive field of work.

Among the shortlisted productions this year, we are especially proud of:

The winners will be announced on Sunday 1 March 2026, in a ceremony in the Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House, London. The winners of the Imison and Tinniswood Awards (judged and administered by the Society of Authors and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain) will also be announced at this ceremony.


Best Original Single Drama

Christmas Past by Christine Entwisle, producer Kirsty Williams, BBC Audio Scotland
The Final Touch by Roy Williams, producer Celia de Wolff, Pier Productions
John From Hemel by Sid Sagar, producer Hunter Charlton, Ember
One Hundred and Fifty Days by Oliver Emanuel, producer Kirsty Williams, BBC Audio Scotland
Shed by Paolo Chianta, producer Lorna Newman, BBC Studios Audio
Sleaze by Joe von Malachowski & Will Close, producer Anne Isger, BBC Studios Audio

Best Adaptation

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, adapted by Katie Hims, producer Anne Isger, BBC Studios Audio
Gatsby in Harlem adapted by Roy Williams from F.Scott Fitzgerald, producer Nathan Freeman, Granny Eats Wolf
Kramer versus Kramer by Avery Korman, adapted by Sarah Wooley, producers Gaynor Macfarlane and Carl Prekopp, BBC Audio Scotland
Saint Joan of the Anthropocene adapted by Linda Marshall Griffiths from George Bernard Shaw, producer Nadia Molinari, BBC Studios Audio
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by Gary McNair, producer Kirsty Williams, BBC Audio Scotland
War With the Newts by Karel Čapek, adapted by Ed Harris, producer Jeremy Mortimer, Reduced Listening
The Yafa Cherry Orchard adapted by Hassan Abdulrazzak from Anton Chekhov, producer Boz Temple-Morris, Holy Mountain

Best Original Series or Serial

Aldrich Kemp and the Rose of Pamir, producer Sarah Tombling, Sweet Talk Productions
Collapsing Orbits by Ed Sellek, producers Eloise Whitmore & Tony Churnside, Naked Productions
The Concierge by Simon Scardifield and Andrew Day, producers Emma Harding and Fay Lomas, BBC Audio Wales & West
Life and Time by James Fritz, producer Tracey Neale, BBC Studios Audio
McLevy in the New World by David Ashton, producer Bruce Young, Absolutely Productions
Mothercover by Fflur Dafydd, producer Fay Lomas, BBC Audio Wales & West
Purple Heart Warriors by Iris Yamashita, producer Catherine Bailey, Catherine Bailey Productions

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, The Fever, directors John Tiffany and Susan Roberts, BBC Audio North
Gabrielle Creevy, Astronomers, director John Norton, BBC Audio Wales & West
Lydia Leonard, Gershwin and Miss Swift, director Tracey Neale, BBC Studios Audio
Jodie McNee, Secrets and Lies: Mona Best and the Beatles, director Carl Prekopp, Essential Productions
Lara Sawalha, The Yafa Cherry Orchard, director Boz Temple-Morris, Holy Mountain
Lydia Wilson, Star, director Abigail le Fleming, BBC Studios Audio

Best Actor

Ncuti Gatwa, Gatsby in Harlem, director Celia de Wolff, Granny Eats Wolf
Aidan Gillen, Faith Healer, directors Jessica Dromgoole and Mary Peate, Hooley Productions
Burn Gorman, Collapsing Orbits, director Tony Churnside, Naked Productions
Derek Jacobi, When Maggie Met Larry, director Richard Clifford, Catherine Bailey Productions
Malachi Kirby, The Final Touch, director Celia de Wolff, Pier Productions
Robin Laing, One Hundred and Fifty Days, director Kirsty Williams, BBC Audio Scotland
Paul Whitehouse, When Alan Met Ray, director Andrew McGibbon, Curtains for Radio

Best Podcast Audio Drama

Buzz: the Man and the Moon by Stephen Kronish, producer John Scott Dryden, Goldhawk Productions & Thoroughbred Studios for iHeart
Discretion by Chris Brandon and Davy Banks, producers Claire Broughton and John Wakefield, Hat Trick Productions
Doctor Who: The Stuff of Legend – the Live Show written and produced by Robert Valentine, Big Finish Productions
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, adapted by Anna Lea, producer Claire Broughton, Hat Trick Productions
Project Bläckfisk written & produced by Dominic Stephenson and Rebecca Crossland, Cipher Atlas Productions
Up in Smoke written & produced by Guy Larson and Cambria Bailey-Jones, Penny4

Best Comedy Performance

Joe Barnes, Lyra, director James Robinson, BBC Studios Audio
Chris Cantrill, Icklewick FM, producers Benjamin Sutton and Laura Shaw, Daddy’s SuperYacht Productions
Jon Culshaw, Churchill’s Bust, producer Richard Clemmow, Perfectly Normal
Tom Machell, Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT!, producers Maria Caruana Galizia and Zahra Zomorrodian, Candle and Bell
Angharad Phillips, All Change at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch, director Fay Lomas, BBC Audio Wales & West
Michael Spicer, Michael Spicer: No Room, producer Matt Tiller, Tillervision

The Marc Beeby Award for Best Debut Performance

Levi Brown, Brat Farrar, director Gemma Jenkins, BBC Studios Audio
Connor Finch, Life and Time, director Tracey Neale, BBC Studios Audio
Lorne McFadyen, Moorgate, director Liz Anstee, CPL Productions
Safia Oakley-Green, Saint Joan of the Anthropocene, director Nadia Molinari, BBC Studios Audio
Sofia Oxenham, The English Are Coming, director Nicolas Jackson, Afonica
Alyth Ross, Four Gammons and a Unicorn, director David Tyler, Pozzitive
Séamus McLean Ross, Schism, director Finn den Hertog, BBC Audio Scotland

Best Sitcom or Comedy Drama

The Abergele Files by Matt Leys and Martin Trenaman, producer Steve Doherty, Giddy Goat Productions
Call Jonathan Pie by Tom Walker with Daniel Abelson, producer Alison Vernon-Smith, Yada-Yada Audio Productions
Churchill’s Bust by David Morley, producer Richard Clemmow, Perfectly Normal
Crybabies Presents… Yours, Fatally by Michael Clarke, James Gault and Ed Jones, producer Benjamin Sutton, Boffola Pictures
Icklewick FM by Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill, producer Benjamin Sutton, Daddy’s SuperYacht Productions
Lyra by Joe Barnes and Henry Perryment, producer James Robinson, BBC Studios Audio
Parish Matters by Michael McCullagh and Phil Taggert, producer Keith Martin, Fabel Productions

Best Stand Up or Sketch Comedy

Alexei Sayle’s Imaginary Sandwich Bar by Alexei Sayle & Tim Sutton, producer Richard Morris, BBC Studios Audio
Glenn Moore’s Almanac by Glenn Moore, producer David Tyler, Pozzitive
It’s a Fair Cop by Alfie Moore, producer Carl Cooper, BBC Studios Audio
The Lively Life of Lindsey Santoro by Lindsey Santoro, producer Sasha Bobak, BBC Studios Audio
Meet David Sedaris by David Sedaris, producer Steve Doherty, Giddy Goat Productions
Sarah Mills’ Bad Bod Squad by Sarah Mills, producers Gordon Kennedy and Sarah Mills
Tough Crowd by Kiri Pritchard-McLean, producer Suzy Grant, Listen

Best Use of Sound

The Bolt, sound by Catherine Robinson, producer John Norton, BBC Audio Wales & West
Gatsby in Harlem, sound by Andreina Gomez Casanova and Axel Cacoutié, producer Nathan Freeman, Granny Eats Wolf
The Girl of the Sea of Cortez, sound by Adam Woodhams, producer Nicolas Jackson, Afonica
Secrets and Lies: Mona Best and the Beatles, sound by Lucinda Mason Brown, David Chilton and Alisdair McGregor, producers Lucinda Mason Brown and Stewart Richards, Essential Productions
The Skewer, sound by Tony Churnside, producer Jon Holmes, Unusual Productions
Zeroes, sound by Peregrine Andrews and Kurt Martinez, producer James Robinson, BBC Studios Audio

Best European Drama

The End of the West written and directed by Lars Werner, producer Klara-Noemi Keitel, RBB Germany
Macbeth by Mathilda von Essen and Axel Wingqvist after William Shakespeare, producers Marie Wennersten and Louise Jacobson, SR Sweden
Not Born For a War by Anatolii Neiolov, producer Irina Korniienko, Radio Kultura, Suspilne, Ukraine
The Pack by Monica Helfer, adapted and directed by Elisabeth Weilenmann, producer Wolfram Höll, ORF Austria
Roller Coaster Kiss written and directed by Ilinca Stihi, producer Oana Cristea Grigorescu, Radio Romania
Twenty-Four by Vaiva Granitė, producers Vakarė Leonavicienė and Kristė Savė, LRT Lithuania