TVNZ Dominates Qantas TV Award Nominations

TVNZ leads the nominations for the inaugural Qantas Film and Television Awards, securing more than half the finalist positions in the television section and dominating the news and current affairs categories.

The awards are the amalgamation of the New Zealand Screen Awards and the New Zealand Television Awards and celebrate the very best in New Zealand film and television.

A strong year in news and current affairs has seen TVNZ receive 23 of the possible 30 nominations in these categories, including two nominations for best news.
ONE News at 6pm and ONE News Tonight will compete with 3News for the coveted best news award, while the best current affairs series is a showdown between Sunday, Close Up and TV3's 60 Minutes.

Close Up's Mark Sainsbury and Fair Go's Kevin Milne are finalists in the category of best news or current affairs presenter, facing off with Campbell Live's John Campbell.
ONE News reporter Lisa Owen has picked up three nominations - two for best news reporting and one for investigation of the year.

Close Up reporter Robyn Janes has been nominated for two separate stories in the best current affairs reporting for a daily programme category. Close Up is a sure winner of this award with John Sellwood picking up the other nod.

The nation's favourite serial drama, Shortland Street, has five nominations, including best drama where it competes with Outrageous Fortune and TV2 stable mate, Ride With the Devil.
Johhny Barker, who played Shortland Street serial killer Joey Henderson is up for best supporting actor in a drama. Angela Bloomfield is nominated as best supporting actress for Ride With The Devil.

Toni Potter - who plays Alice Piper on Shortland Street - is up for best actress, and long serving Shortland Street actor Michael Galvin (Dr Chris Warner) picks up a nod in the best actor category.

Long-running TV2 show Eating Media Lunch is a finalist in the best comedy programme category, and TV ONE has all the nominations in the best factual series category, with The Big Picture, The Investigator and Undercover.

Dancing With The Stars' Jason Gunn is a finalist in the best presenter category, against Hamish Keith for TV ONE's The Big Picture and Petra Bagust in What's Really In Our Food?

New digital channel TVNZ 6 has been recognised with a nomination for The Gravy in the best information/lifestyle programme category, and New Artland in the best format/reality category.

Winners of the Qantas Film and Television Awards will be announced on Saturday, 13 September in Auckland.

The full list of finalists can be found at:
www.qantasfilmandtvawards.co.nz.

ENDS

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