NTAs name first all-female drama performance shortlist — SkimNews
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- National Television Awards voters selected the first all-female shortlist in the drama performance category, with five nominees picked by public vote from a longlist that also included David Tennant, Gary Oldman, Idris Elba, James Norton, and Tom Hiddleston.
- Sheridan Smith (ITV's I Fought The Law), Ruth Jones (Netflix thriller Run Away), Vicky McClure (Trigger Point), Ella Bruccoleri (The Other Bennet Sister), and Judy Parfitt (Call The Midwife) are the five nominees.
- Stacey Solomon earned three nominations including best TV presenter, where she faces Ant & Dec, David Attenborough (in his 100th birthday year), Claudia Winkleman, and Alison Hammond — the same prize Gary Lineker won last year, ending Ant & Dec's 23-year winning streak.
- Heated Rivalry, the Canadian romance breakout, was nominated for best new drama, eligible because it was co-produced by Sky UK, while Winkleman and Tess Daly's final series of Strictly Come Dancing is shortlisted for best talent show.
- Mrs Brown's Boys earned a best comedy nomination despite creator Brendan O'Carroll breaking his jaw and the show officially cancelling its festive specials this week.
- Winners will be decided by public voting until midday on 8 September; the ceremony takes place at London's O2 arena, hosted again by Joel Dommett and broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX from 20:00 BST.
Why it matters: The all-female drama performance lineup marks a first for the NTAs since they launched in 1995 and shows how a public-vote longlist — which also featured Tennant, Oldman, Elba, Norton, and Hiddleston — can still funnel down to an exclusively female shortlist. Voting closes at midday on 8 September before the live O2 ceremony on ITV1.
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