Big Fat Gypsy Weddings nominated for Bafta's YouTube audience award

20 April 2011

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced that Channel 4's Big Fat Gypsy Weddings has been nominated for the YouTube Audience Award, given to the most popular programme of the last year at the upcoming Philips British Academy Television Awards.

Also nominated in this category are Downton Abbey, The Killing, Miranda, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, The Only Way is Essex and Sherlock.  Past winners include The Inbetweeners(2010), Skins (2009) and Gavin & Stacey (2008).

The YouTube Audience Award is the only Award voted for by the public. It rewards the programmes that have captured audiences' imaginations and were the most watched, loved and talked about. A panel of entertainment journalists collated the shortlist, which features a variety of genres, including drama, entertainment and comedy.

From Tuesday 19 April until 5pm on Friday 20 May, members of the public will have the opportunity to vote for the YouTube Audience Award at www.youtube.com/baftaonline

Tina Flintoff, Commissioning Editor for Factual Entertainment at Channel 4 said: "We are absolutely delighted that so many people came to the series and enjoyed it. To be nominatedfor this award is the icing on the cake and we hope that fans of the show will vote for us to win. "

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, added: "It is fantastic to see such an eclectic list of programmes nominated for this year's YouTube Audience Award. These programmes have captured the British viewers' attention and have earned their place on this year's shortlist." 

Hosted by Graham Norton, the Awards will be held at Grosvenor House, London, on 22 May 2011.

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings - Channel 4/Firecracker Films
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings is a visually arresting portrait of the lives of gypsies and travelers in Britain today. Picking up where the hugely successful Cutting Edge film of the same title left off, the new series follows the extraordinary rite-of-passage events - including weddings, communions and christenings - to offer a window into the world of the gypsy and traveller community. Each stand-alone episode gives insights into the community's attitudes toward gender roles, education and outsiders. The series also explores the remarkable rituals, traditions and beliefs held by this minority group. Warm, intelligent, engrossing and funny, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings tells intimate stories on an epic scale, laying bare an exotic unseen Britain that exists right on our doorstep.