2020 Sandford St Martin Awards Judges
Sandford St Martin judges represent some of the best of the UK’s broadcasting and journalism industries. Chosen to represent a broad range of experience, perspectives and backgrounds as well as attitudes to faith, what they have in common is their skill, professionalism and commitment to excellence in broadcasting.
Ngunan Adamu
Radio/Audio Judge
Ngunan Adamu produces and presents BBC Merseyside’s popular ‘Upfront‘ programme. She is also the founder and CEO of iWoman Media – a peer to peer organisation set up by women to empower, entertain, explore and inspire women around the world.
Anna Bassi
Children’s Judge
Anna Bassi is Editor-in-chief of the multi-award-winning children’s news magazine, The Week Junior. Anna has been creating magazines for children for more than 25 years. She has an in-depth understanding of what young readers engage with, and a commitment to providing brilliant, perfectly-pitched, trusted and age-appropriate content that keeps children –and their parents – coming back for more. In December 2018 Anna was presented with the Editors’ Editor Award by the British Society of Magazine Editors. She is currently directing the editorial team who will launch The Week Junior in the US in spring 2020.
Kay Benbow
Children’s Judge
With over 25 years of experience in Children’s Broadcasting, Kay is an Independent Children’s Media Specialist. As Controller, CBeebies (2010 – 2018), Kay commissioned all content – TV, Online, Apps and Radio, for the BBC’s pre-school Channel. Under her leadership, CBeebies became a multi-genre, multi-platform offering. This most loved and most watched Children’s Channel was awarded BAFTA Children’s Channel of the Year five times during Kay’s tenure. A member of BAFTA, the RTS and Vice Chair of the Steering Group for the Young Audiences Content Fund, in 2017 Kay was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield University for services to Children’s Broadcasting.
William Crawley
Chair of the Journalism Judging Panel
William Crawley is a journalist and broadcaster with the BBC. He hosts the daily radio current affairs programme Talkback for the BBC in Northern Ireland, Sunday on BBC Radio 4, and regularly writes and presents documentaries for Radio 3, Radio 4, and the BBC World Service. His television work – more than 40 documentaries and series – includes the landmark natural history series Blueprint, which now forms part of the Ulster Museum’s permanent collection; the interview series William Crawley Meets, in which he meets thought leaders from across the world; and a three-part autobiographical series documenting life in Northern Ireland. He is Patron of the Belfast Film Festival; a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship; in 2012 he received an honorary Doctor of Literature (D.Lit.) degree from Queen’s University Belfast, for services to broadcasting; and in 2019 he was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Sally Dixon
TV/Video Judge
A multi-award winning (RTS, BAFTA) and experienced Executive Producer with a history of working in the broadcast media industry, Sally Dixon includes among her many credits: Executive Producer on The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Britain Celebrates Live: 100 Years of Women’s Votes and The Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration, and The Grenfell Tower Memorial Service, all live on BBC1.
Felicity Finch
Radio/Audio Judge
Felicity Finch is an actress, a features and documentary presenter, and journalist who has worked in both Afghanistan and Rwanda but she’s best known to the general public as “Ruth Archer” from BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Archers’.
Peter Hannington
Journalism Judge
Peter Hannington has worked as a journalist for over twenty-five years, most recently at The World Tonight and Newshour on the BBC World Service. Before that he worked for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme for 14 years where he initiated the special guest editor programmes and worked on special projects including collaborations with the Manchester International Festival and Glastonbury. He is also the author of A Dying Breed ( a Sunday Times ‘Thriller of the Month’) and A Single Source. His third novel will be out soon.
Hayley Hassall
Chair of the Children’s Judging Panel
Hayley Hassall is a presenter and producer at the BBC. Currently the lead presenter for CBBC Newsround, she has jumped from a plane, swam with sharks and slept on the streets of London to bring the news and current affairs to children. She specialises in original journalism and has made award winning documentaries for younger audiences, including ‘Ruth’s Story’: following an unaccompanied refugee from Eritrea to the UK, ‘Natasha’s story’: retelling the story of a girl who was homeless in Manchester. Hayley also can be heard on Radio 4’s File on 4, and has worked for The One Show, Panorama and BBC Religious program Sunday Life. Hayley has won a BAFTA, Two RTS awards and a Prize Europa, as well as being nominated for a Sanford St Martin award in 2018.
Tamara Howe
TV/Video Judge
A senior media executive with over 20 years experience in the television industry, managing broadcast and production businesses across the public and private sector, Tamara Howe was Chief Content Officer and then Managing Director of VICE TV & Production across EMEA where she oversaw the strategic direction and commercial operation of VICE’s TV networks across the region. She joined VICE from the BBC where she held a number of senior roles, including Controller of Business, Comedy & Entertainment, the departments responsible for a portfolio of programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, Fleabag, Top Gear and Miranda. Tamara began her media career in the independent sector before joining ITV in 1989. She is a Board member of the Edinburgh Television Festival and has been a Board Member of MEWE 360 since 2018.
Kuljinder Khaila
Children’s Judge
Kuljinder Khaila is the Executive Producer of the BBC Young Reporter journalism and media project which gives young people aged 11-18 the chance to create and share stories that matter to them. As part of the scheme young people get the chance to work with BBC staff of all levels including reporters, producers, editors, journalists and engineers. Previously he edited Sunday Morning Live on BBC1.
Sima Kotecha
Chair of the Radio/Audio Judging Panel
Sima Kotcha is a correspondent for BBC national news TV and radio covering policy, politics, education, defence and social affairs across different outputs (BBC TV news bulletins, national radio, online). She specialises in original journalism and reporting from hard to reach communities. Her foreign reporting has come from war zones in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as well as Haiti during the earthquake, from Lebanon where she covered the Syrian refugee crisis, Brussels to report on EU politics, and across the USA where she covered Obama’s 2008 election and the Oscars on numerous occasions.
Jonathan Levi
TV/Video Judge
Jonathan Levi is a highly experienced multi award winning executive producer with experience in both unscripted and scripted television. Previous roles include Head of Arts and Popular Culture at ITV Studios, Executive Producer Renegade Pictures and Creative Director of Antenna Pictures. Jonathan is currently executive producer at Honey Bee TV. His credits include Hatton Garden and Broadmoor for ITV. He’s also worked on the critically acclaimed Transformation Street (ITV), Ross Kemp and The Armed Police (ITV) Ewan McGreggor’s Cold Chain Mission (BBC2), Tulisa The Price of Fame (BBC3/BBC1) as well as Used Car Wars (Dave). He is the author of the Sunday Times top 10 best seller and number 1 on Audible, Inside Broadmoor.
Camilla Lewis
Chair of the TV/Video Judging Panel
Camilla Lewis is joint CEO of Curve Media, an unscripted production company with production bases in London, Cardiff and Dublin. She has spent her career creating and overseeing some of the best-known brands on British television including Four Rooms, Great British Railway Journeys, Escape To The Country and Grand Designs for the world’s best broadcasters including BBC, Discovery Networks, ITV, Channel 4, Viacom, and Sky. She is also a co-founder, trustee and mentor for the Promise Foundation a charity dedicated committed to supporting social mobility through deploying the resources of the local community to provide young people with mentoring relationships.
Kenan Malik
Radio/Audio Judge
Kenan Malik is a writer, lecturer, broadcaster and a regular columnist for The Observer. Trained in neurobiology and the history of science his latest book is The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics. You can find out more about writing, talks and photography on his website Pandaemonium.
Fatima Manji
Journalism Judge
Fatima Manji is a News Correspondent and regularly reports on a range of national and international stories for Channel 4. Her broadcasting has included telling the story of the migration crisis from the borders of Europe, interviewing victims of ISIS atrocities in Iraq and challenging politicians here in the UK during the referendum campaign. She also occasionally presents Channel 4 News from the studio. Fatima has won a number of awards for her journalism and in 2015 she was a finalist for the Royal Television Society’s Young Journalist of the Year. During the 2015 General Election she presented Britain’s first ever Alternative Election Debate featuring young party leaders facing a live audience. Before joining Channel 4 she worked as a reporter and video journalist at the BBC.
Bénédicte Paviot
Journalism Judge
Bénédicte Paviot is an Anglo-French Journalist, TV & Radio Broadcaster and the UK correspondent for France 24, the French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Until recently she was also the President of the Foreign Press Association in London.
Shortlists
In addition to our judges, we are hugely indebted to our 2020 shortlisters, all of whom brought their extensive broadcasting experience to the category they were asked to work on. Together they whittled down more than 200 entries to create this year’s shortlists. Our thanks to:
Olive Clancy, Torin Douglas, Anna Drew, Oliver File, David Gilbert, Flora Gregory, Natasha Maw, Nana-Adwoa Mbeutcha, Anna McNamee, Nicola Meyrick, Harry Parker, Mark Perrow, Pete Rawlings, Angela Robson, Paresh Solanki, Bryony Taylor and Chris Wilson.