Every year, American advocacy group the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation awards films, television programmes and other forms of media that have presented fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.
Today, the nominees for the 21st GLAAD Media Awards have been announced — and British television programmes are included in some of the categories.
Russell T Davies’ five-part Torchwood: Children of Earth is competing with ITV’s biopic of Quentin Crisp’s last years, An Englishman in New York, in the Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series category, while Jonathan Harvey’s Nineties-based sitcom Beautiful People is nominated in the Outstanding Comedy category alongside E4’s new import Glee, Modern Family (which airs on Sky 1), Greek and The United States of Tara.
Glee maybe be Channel 4 by proxy, but the broadcaster gets recognition of its own for E4’s Skins in the Outstanding Drama Series category, while the More4 documentary Derek, made by Isaac Julien and Tilda Swinton about artist and film-maker Derek Jarman, is nominated for Outstanding Documentary.
The awards ceremonies aren’t until mid February, and confusingly are split into three separate events in New York (where An Englishman in New York and Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is to receive a special award), San Francisco and Los Angeles. But fingers crossed, some of British television’s great output will get some of the recognition they deserve.
