Here’s what our panel said about the nominees…

Soap & Continuing Drama

Casualty
 

Caitlin Moran: On Casualty, it was the year of the paramedic, seeing two new paramedic characters introduced to the show and we also saw our long-time hero Duffy starting to suffer with dementia, which will have broken the hearts of hardcore fans who’ve been watching it since the 80s.

Coronation Street

Emily Atack: None of us could live without Coronation Street. You’ve got the pantomime fun, hilarious characters, and then you obviously have the very kind of hard-hitting storylines.

Emmerdale
 

CM: May 2019 saw the sad, yet glorious, departure of Jane Cox, who has been playing the character of Lisa Dingle for 23 years, making her the longest-running female character in Emmerdale.

Holby City
 

EA: My parents eased me in with Casualty, and then I was allowed to kind of watch Holby City when I was a little bit older – a few more snogs and a few more affairs going on in Holby City.

Rylan Clark-Neal: The Holby City building, the hospital, is actually in real life just next to a little car park at the BBC and you just wander around till you see it. It’s quite fun. I might get my scrubs on.
 

Reality & Constructed Factual

Celebrity Gogglebox
 

RCN: Then you’ve got Celebrity Gogglebox, which weirdly enough, I’m on with my mother. We didn’t really know what to expect, but it has been such a pleasure to be a part of that show.

EA: I loved filming it. I sat there and drank champagne with my mum and ate snacks and watched telly. Perfect.

Harry’s Heroes: The Full English
 

CM: Harry’s Heroes Full English answered the question: what happens if you’re a former England football hero, but you’ve got older, you’ve got out of shape and you’re a bit bored?

EA: Harry Redknapp is obviously an absolute legend. He’s just a gorgeous teddy bear, a bundle of love, and I think that’s why everybody loves him.

Race Across The World

CM: Race Across The World was a show in the days when we used to be able to travel, where groups of people, usually with festering resentments against each other, have to race across the world using no planes at all, usually by bus.

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

EA: I tend to watch it and then want to go out straightaway afterwards with all my make-up on, looking fabulous, feeling fabulous.

View the full list of nominees here. 

When is the 2020 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards on TV?

The 2020 Virgin Media BAFTAs airs on BBC One HD (CH 101/108) at 7pm on Friday 31 July. It is also available for 30 days in Apps & Games > BBC iPlayer.