BAFTA’s exclusive official podcast returns for a second series, delving into the world of television

Ahead of next month’s BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises, BAFTA’s exclusive official podcast returns for a second series, delving into this year’s nominated TV shows and performances with industry insiders and expert voices. Fronted by TV presenter and journalist Alex Zane, listeners will enjoy informed and entertaining behind-the-scenes chat about the making of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows from the past 12 months and how these shows are impacting today’s TV.

All 26 competitive categories in the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises, spanning documentaries to drama to comedy and current affairs, will be unpacked over the course of eight 45-minute episodes. The new series will also travel to the BAFTA Television Craft Awards to meet the talented crew, writers and directors that make the public’s favourite shows.

The first episode will publish today at 13:00 BST, and is available to listen under embargo upon request. TV expert Scott Bryan and soaps journalist Sharon Marshall will discuss the hugely popular Daytime, Soap and Reality categories from this year’s awards. Together they will unpack the rumoured decline in binge-watching, how linear TV can still impact the cultural zeitgeist, and the power of soaps in bringing awareness to important issues.

As previously announced, the top ten nominated shows include The Crown, Black Mirror, Happy Valley, Slow Horses, The Sixth Commandment, The Last of Us, The Long Shadow, Succession, Eurovision Song Contest 2023 and Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland, with further information here.

Each episode will welcome a different roster of on and off screen talent specific to the genres and formats of television they will be discussing. The series is recording in BAFTA’s new podcast studio in the Kenworthy Room of BAFTA’s Piccadilly HQ. Episodes will be released every Tuesday and Thursday, on all podcast directories including Apple Podcasts, Acast, and Spotify.

Host Alex Zane said: “It’s great to be back with another season of Countdown To The BAFTAs – this time focusing on the amazing variety of shows nominated for the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises. It’s been fascinating delving into what the nominations say about the British television industry today and where it might be headed next.”

BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip said: “I’m so pleased to launch a second season of Countdown to the BAFTAs, this time celebrating the breadth and quality of television from the past year. What makes a television show BAFTA-worthy? What do this year’s nominations say about TV today? What was happening behind the scenes of our favourite TV shows? These are just some of the questions that Alex Zane will be unpacking with a fantastic roster of industry guests over the coming weeks.”

Alex Zane is an award-winning TV and film journalist, broadcaster and writer who has been the host of Sky Cinema for over a decade, presenting his movie series ‘Alex Zane’s Guest List’, as well as interviewing on-screen talent and filmmakers for his 60-minute talk show, Reel Life. He started his career at MTV presenting TRL: UK before moving to Channel 4 to become part of the acclaimed prank show Balls of Steel, later hosting T4’s Popworld and late-night comedy show Rude Tube, as well as BBC show Celebrity Scissorhands for Children in Need.

Production of the podcast series is by Rethink Audio, the team who launched Happy Place and The High Performance Podcast and has a relationship with BAFTA spanning two decades.

This year’s BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises will be hosted by Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan on Sunday 12 May and will recognise the incredible quality and variety of television broadcast in 2023.  

‘Countdown to the BAFTAs’ first released in January 2024 profiling the 10 longlisted films in contention for Best Film at the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards. Guests included interviews with Graham Broadbent & Sarah Harvey (All of Us Strangers), Marie-Ange Luciani & David Thion (Anatomy of a Fall), Margot Robbie (Barbie), Daniel Lupi (Killers of The Flower Moon), Bradley Cooper (Maestro), Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas (Oppenheimer), Pamela Koffler (Past Lives), Andrew Lowe & Ed Guiney (Poor Things), and James Wilson (The Zone of Interest).