BBC Ni's Catholic Church Exposé Beats Jimmy Savile Documentary to Bafta

By Claire Cromie
Belfast Telegraph
May 12, 2013

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/bbc-nis-catholic-church-expos-beats-jimmy-savile-documentary-to-bafta-29260912.html

Darragh MacIntyre in This World: The Shame of the Catholic Church. Photo by BBC This World.

Left to right. Winners of Current Affairs News Coverage Award for The Shame of the Catholic Church Darragh MacIntyre, Sam Collyns, Alison Millar and Seamus McCracken, at the 2013 Arqiva British Academy Television Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Cardinal Sean Brady

Actor Liam Cunningham in Game of Thrones

BBC Northern Ireland has won a BAFTA for its powerful film investigating sex abuse priests in Ireland - beating ITV's controversial Jimmy Savile documentary.

The Shame of the Catholic Church - part of BBC Two’s This World strand - won the Current Affairs category at the prestigious annual TV awards ceremony.

Directed by Alison Millar, the documentary saw Darragh MacIntyre reveal new evidence about the role of the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, in the failure to protect children from child abuse.

MacIntyre tracked down the children and revealed Cardinal Sean Brady, the Primate of All Ireland, had the names and addresses of children who were being abused or were at risk of being abused by Ireland’s most notorious paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth, but failed to ensure that they were protected.

The documentary beat the controversial ITV Exposure programme The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, Panorama's Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis and Al Jazeera's What killed Arafat? to the BAFTA award.

Also among the list of nominees tonight (Sunday) is Game of Thrones, which was filmed in various locations in Northern Ireland, including Titanic Studios in Belfast and the Linen Mill Film Studios in Banbridge.

It has been shortlisted in the International category and is also for the Radio Times Audience Award - the only prize chosen by the public.

Game of Thrones received funding from the Northern Ireland Screen fund supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.