• Public voting opens tomorrow for this year’s Virgin TV Must-See Moment
  • Shortlisted programmes represent the most-talked about TV programme moments of 2016 from fighting mammals to dancing politicians

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has today announced the shortlist of nominated moments for this year’s Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment, the only award voted for by the British public at the upcoming Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards, taking place on Sunday 14 May at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

The nominated moments are:

  • Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards
  • The Late Late Show: Carpool Karaoke Michelle Obama
  • Line of Duty: Urgent Exit Required
  • Planet Earth II: Snakes vs Iguana Chase
  • Strictly Come Dancing: Ed Balls’ Gangnam Style
  • Who Do You Think You Are: Danny Dyer’s Origins

Link to stills imagery and video clips: https://bit.ly/2oafZio

The Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment rewards the TV highlights that had the nation gripped last year: the dramatic scenes, the cliffhangers, the laugh-out-loud and the edge-of-your-seat action. A panel of leading media and entertainment journalists collated the shortlist, which this year champions everything from British drama and global entertainment showstoppers to nature documentaries and factual history programmes.

From Tuesday 11 April (08.00) until Wednesday 10 May (17.00) members of the public will have the opportunity to vote for the Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment at www.virginmedia.com/bafta. Early voters will also enter a prize draw to win tickets to attend the event*.

For the first time TV fans can also vote through their television sets- Virgin TV customers can vote through the app on the TiVo® platform. Voting via TiVo closes on Thursday 4 May at 23:59.

David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin TV, said: “The Virgin TV Must-See Moment celebrates the role that TV has at the heart of British entertainment and culture.  Great television has the power to fire our emotions and get us talking and laughing. From snake chases and huge battle scenes, to seeing big names trying to sing and dance, there is something for everyone. With the nominations we are announcing today, the Great British public has a tough decision to make.  I can’t wait to see the final results.”

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, added: “With our title sponsor Virgin TV, we are thrilled to announce the shortlist for a new public-voted award this year – Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment. The shortlist demonstrates an incredible range of unforgettable TV moments from last year and I’m sure it will be tough to pick out a favourite.  I look forward to the winner being revealed on Sunday 14 May.”

The nominations for the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards will be announced tomorrow live on Facebook (facebook.com/bafta).

The winner of the Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment will be announced at the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards, which will take place on Sunday 14 May at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Link to stills imagery and video clips: https://bit.ly/2oafZio

Ends

Notes To Editors

*The prize draw to win tickets to the event applies to votes cast between Tuesday 11 April (from 08:00) and closes Monday 24 April (at 23:59).

For accreditation, free photography, BAFTA logos, press releases and more visit www.bafta.org/press

About the Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment nominations:

www.virginmedia.com/bafta

#MustSeeMoment #BAFTATV

Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards

Battle of the Bastards: Daenerys returns to Meereen. Meanwhile, Jon Snow’s army advances as the battle for Winterfell begins. Jon Snow’s troops stand in formation across the battlefield from the much larger Bolton army. Ramsay leads Rickon by rope to the front of the lines and surprises everyone by cutting Rickon’s binds. Releasing the boy, Ramsay tells him to run to his brother. Rickon sees Ramsay’s bow being brought to him and speeds toward the other side. Disregarding caution, Jon leaps onto his horse and races to reach his brother before the arrows do, but fails. Rickon is struck down and Jon, overcome with rage, loses sight of his side’s careful strategy and charges the Bolton army. The Stark troops follow their leader into battle while Ramsay commands his archers to loose and his cavalry to charge. Staggering to his feet after his horse is hit, Jon prepares to face oncoming death, but is saved by the arrival of his cavalry, which collides with the Boltons’.

The Late Late Show: Carpool Karaoke Michelle Obama

Just when you thought The Late Late Show’s Carpool Karaoke couldn’t get any better… James Corden’s White House tour takes an unthinkable turn when First Lady Michelle Obama joins him for a drive around the grounds singing Stevie Wonder and Beyonce. Surprise guest Missy Elliott drops in to belt out a few tunes with James and Michelle, including her new track “This Is For My Girls” and mega-hit “Get Your Freak On”.

Line of Duty: Urgent Exit Required

It looks like AC12 have finally caught ‘The Caddy’ during a tense interview with one of their own – DI Matther  ‘Dot’ Cottan. Dot sends out a text – “Urgent Exit Required” – which triggers one of the guards outside the interview room to shoot his colleague and smash the glass with machine gun fire. Dot makes a run for it followed in hot pursuit by DC Kate Fleming!

Planet Earth II: Snakes vs Iguana chase

Hailed on twitter as ‘possibly the greatest scene in documentary history’, this thrilling chase scene – filmed in the Galapagos islands – features baby marine iguanas escaping hoards of hungry racer snakes. The sequence is part of the opening episode of Planet Earth II that focuses on the wildlife that inhabits remote Islands – from the sleepy pygmy sloth from the Caribbean Island of Escudo, to the brave penguins of Zavodovski island who brave gigantic waves and an active volcano to raise their chicks.

Strictly Come Dancing: Ed Balls’ Gangnam Style

Some described it as 90” of “glorious madness”, others that “once seen, it couldn’t be unseen”. Whether it made you squeal with delight or shriek with horror, when Ed and Katya unleashed their Gangnam Style salsa onto the nation, it immediately became one of the most memorable TV moments of 2016.   The routine was uninhibited yet disciplined, ambitious yet entertaining with the couple’s trust in each other shining through.   With some of the most original dance moves seen on Strictly performed by the ex-shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, this was utter delight on a dance floor but most importantly it reminded people of why they want to dance.  Viewers loved it and no wonder Len described Ed as “the people’s champion”

Who Do You Think You Are: Danny Dyer’s Origins

EastEnders star Danny Dyer hopes to “freak a few people out” in his episode of the popular BBC genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?.   Danny sets out to discover the history of his tough working class family in the East End of London, but soon unearths an extraordinary lineage. The actor is astonished to discover that he is descended from Henry VIII’s right hand man, Thomas Cromwell, and, stretching back even further, that his 22 x great grandfather is King Edward III, and his 30 x great grandfather is William the Conqueror.  Danny’s reactions as ‘a kid from Canning Town’ to this incredible bloodline makes for a revealing, moving and  often very funny episode.

About Virgin TV’s Must See Moment

Virgin TV is the new title sponsor for the British Academy Television Awards. As part of the three year partnership, Virgin TV also launches a new award – Virgin TV’s Must-See Moment – which rewards the TV programme moments that had the nation gripped last year; the dramatic scenes, the cliffhangers, the laugh out loud, the edge-of-your-seat; unforgettable TV action.

Initially, Virgin TV created a longlist of 100 moments working to a robust scientific methodology, by looking at official viewing figures via the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB), media monitoring (using KANTAR Media data), press coverage and reviews, and social media monitoring (using KANTAR Twitter Data and Netbase). To be eligible, TV or online scripted content moments were first broadcast or available to watch in the UK between 1 January and 31 December 2016, on terrestrial, cable, satellite or digital channels, including web-based broadcasters who commission content (e.g. Netflix, BBC Three) and content creators on YouTube (those that have six or more episodes and proven production team responsible for making the series).

A panel of leading media and entertainment journalists met on 30 March 2017 to review the longlist and whittle down to the six shortlisted nominations. This year’s Must-See Moment champions everything from British drama and global entertainment showstoppers to nature documentaries and factual history programmes.

For further information:

Nick Baxter at freuds

T 020 330 6658

E nick.baxter@freuds.com

Hep Kwakye-Saka at freuds

T 020 3003 6482

E hep.kwakyesaka@freuds.com

Olivia McKee, Virgin Media

T: 0333 000 2900

E: Press@virginmedia.co.uk

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. The company’s dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely available broadband speeds to homes and businesses. We’re expanding this through our £3bn Project Lightning programme, which will reach 17 million premises.

Virgin Media recently revamped its TV offering for its customers with the launch of its new Virgin TV V6 set-top box and enhanced multi-screen viewing experience. Virgin TV has also increased its investment in boxsets, catch up services as well as launching exclusive new TV shows, including Ash vs Evil Dead, Kingdom, Full Circle and most recently US hit drama Imposters, all premiering in the UK and brilliantly brought together by Virgin TV.

Our interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones.

We launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and services. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business, we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries.

For more information visit www.virginmedia.com

About the Media Panel

The media panel was made up of key entertainment and media journalists across print, TV, radio and online outlets. The panel debated over a long list of TV moments that aired between 1 January and 31 December 2016, to create the six shortlisted programmes eligible for public vote.

About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, television and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more, visit www.bafta.org.

#BAFTATV

Journalists can contact the Virgin Media O2 press office on:
press@virginmediao2.co.uk 01753 565656
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