
The Graham Norton Show won the Best Entertainment Programme BAFTA award last night in a glittering ceremony hosted by Graham Norton himself. The award comes a brief 13 years after our last BAFTA for So Graham Norton.

The nominations for the 2013 BAFTA Television Awards have been announced and So Television has three of them. The Graham Norton Show is up for Best Entertainment Programme while in the Entertainment Performance award So Television has an astonishing 50% of the field. Both Graham Norton and Sarah Millican have been nominated along with Alan Carr and Ant & Dec. The awards ceremony takes place on Sunday 12th May at the Royal Festival Hall.
A second series of Alexander Armstrong’s Big Ask begins transmission on Dave from February 2013. The run starts with a compilation of Series 1 followed by 6 new episodes and a compilation of Series 2.

The BBC has announced that it wants to commission a 3rd series of The Sarah Millican Television Programme before the second series has gone to air. Series 2 is currently in production and will start transmitting in January 2013. Series 3 will be recorded at Media City in Salford in June 2013 for an Autumn transmission.
The Sarah Millican Television Programme is produced by So Scotland and Chopsy Productions.

Graham has been nominated for King/Queen of Comedy, Best Comedy Entertainment Programme and Comedy Entertainment Personality in the 2012 British Comedy Awards which will be broadcast live on Channel 4 on 14th December.

So Television has been bought by ITV Studios in a £17m deal. Denise O'Donoghue, Managing Director, ITV Studios UK said, "So Television is known for its creative rigour and intense quality-control across its programming, whether that is its crown jewel, The Graham Norton Show, or its newer but no less brilliant The Sarah Millican Television Programme. Its programming presence on other channels is strategically terrific for ITV Studios, which has increased its output this year with new shows across the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky. I am really looking forward to having So as part of ITV Studios, working with Graham Stuart and his team to add even more value to this dynamic and successful production company.”
Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV Studios, said, “So Television and Graham Norton have been making high quality programmes for many years now. I believe that ITV Studios can bring scale to their ambitions and together we can continue to keep The Graham Norton Show at the top of its game and increase the amount of new programming in their production slate. This is an important acquisition for ITV Studios and demonstrates our strategy to increase our capability in the production of high quality television entertainment programming.”
Graham Norton said, “So TV has been our baby for 12 years, so I’m thrilled that the ITV family has decided to take it under their wing and help it blossom.”
Graham Stuart said, "We are incredibly excited to be starting a new chapter in the So story with ITV Studios. Now we have the chance to achieve what we've always wanted to in this industry but with real strength and inspiration behind us.”




The first episode features Sarah talking about wildlife and dating programmes through meeting naturalist Chris Packham from Spring Watch and Sexpert Tracey Cox.
Future episodes will star: distinguished actor Simon Callow, fashion designer Julian MacDonald, sports television presenter Clare Balding and star of Downton Abbey Phyllis Logan.



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