Judges for the Sandford St Martin 2026 Awards
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.
Emma-Louise Amanshia
Chair of Young Audience judging panel
Emma-Louise Amanshia is a broadcaster and presenter, best known as a presenter on Newsround on CBBC. She has extensive experience developing content for young people across multiple platforms. She also hosts a show on Fun Kids Radio, has fronted multiple series for BBC Bitesize and presents regularly on BBC Radio 1.
Vanessa Amberleigh
Young Audience judge
Vanessa began her TV career as a presenter on BBC Playdays: Patch Stop. She has since worked as a writer, script editor and producer, producing both live-action and animation. Vanessa was producer on the launch of CBeebies in 2002 and Executive Producer and Genre Lead for Preschool Production at BBC Children’s for 10 years.
Richie Brave
Radio/Audio Judge
Richie Brave is a South London born broadcaster, journalist and cultural tastemaker. He hosts the award-nominated flagship talk show 1Xtra Talks on BBC Radio 1Xtra, known for fearless interviews and sharp social commentary on politics, culture and identity. Richie’s work spans radio, journalism and live cultural events, where he brings curiosity, insight and challenge to conversations shaping modern Britain.
Innes Bowen
Journalism Judge
Innes Bowen is the author of Medina in Birmingham, Najaf in Brent: Inside British Islam. She is a freelance journalist and executive producer of audio and video podcasts. Her previous roles include editor of various Radio 4 series including Analysis, investigations editor of Newsnight and executive producer at BBC Studios.
William Crawley
Journalism Judge
William Crawley is a journalist and BBC presenter. He hosts Talkback, the daily current affairs programme on BBC Radio Ulster and Sunday on BBC Radio 4. He has written and presented radio and television documentaries for the BBC including An Independent People, which tells the story of Ulster’s Presbyterians, and Brave New World, which explores the history of Irish emigration. He is a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship, a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and was named Irish Speech Broadcaster of the Year in the IMRO Awards in both 2022 and 2024. Prior to his career in journalism, he served as a Presbyterian minister in Belfast and New York and lectured in theology and philosophy.
Jumoké Fashola
Radio/Audio Judge
Jumoké Fashola is an award‑winning broadcaster, journalist, actor and jazz vocalist. She presents Sunday Breakfast: Inspirit and The Jumoké Fashola Show on BBC Radio London, and previously hosted the contemporary jazz programme J to Z on BBC Radio 3. As a television presenter, her credits include Songs of Praise and The Holiday Programme, alongside acting roles in Riches, Big Age, Mimi’s World and Ama’s World. A celebrated performer, she has appeared at major venues including the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall. She is the creator and host of Jazz Verse Jukebox.
Felicity Finch
Radio/Audio Judge
Felicity Finch is an actor, probably best known for playing Ruth Archer in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers. She’s also a features and documentary presenter and producer for Radio 4 and The World Service. Her work has taken her to Rwanda several times where she’s made programmes about the long-term effects of the 1994 genocide on women’s lives.
Ruhi Hamid
TV/Video Judge
Ruhi Hamid is a high-end documentary filmmaker with over 30 years of experience making award-winning, character-led films for the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera, and international broadcasters. Her work is known for its narrative depth, journalistic rigour, and cinematic beauty—qualities essential for powerful hybrid storytelling that blends documentary with dramatic reconstruction.
Vanessa Harriss
Young Audience Judge
Vanessa Harriss is the editor of the multi-award-winning weekly children’s news magazine, The Week Junior. In a career of 25 years, she has worked for many newspapers and magazines but highlights include being copy chief at TIME (Europe, Middle East and Asia) and working at Wired UK, explaining complex technologies to a broad readership.
Maxine Hughes
Journalism Judge
Maxine Hughes is an Emmy- nominated Welsh journalist, presenter and producer, known for her work with S4C, BBC , ABC Australia and as the Welsh translator for FX and Disney’s ‘Welcome to Wrexham’. Her series Byd Eithafol (Extreme World) explores difficult social, political and often controversial topics globally. She produced ‘64 Days’ documenting the period before the attack on the US Capitol on 6th January 2021, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2025 she was inducted into the Gorsedd of bards at the 2025 National Eisteddfod in Wrexham.
Rob Ketteridge
Chair of Radio/Audio judging panel
Rob Ketteridge is Executive Director, Audiences & Public Engagement at the Imperial War Museum. Before joining IWM last year, he worked for BBC Audio and BBC Studios in radio and podcasting, leading production teams in genres including arts, documentary and drama.
Nicole Kleeman
TV/Video Judge
Nicole founded Firecrest Films in 2008 – the company that made Young, British and Anti-Abortion, winner of Sandford St Martin and Edinburgh TV awards, also nominated for a Grierson prize. Her executive producer credits also cover seven series for Amazon Prime, including the award-winning Three Mothers, Two Babies and a Scandal, BBC films like Liar – the Fake Grooming Scandal (2025 BAFTA Scotland award for single documentary), and more than 20 investigative films for BBC Panorama and Channel 4 Dispatches.
Jonathan Levi
TV/Video judge
Jonathan Levi is an RTS winner, a BAFTA-nominated documentary film maker, a Sunday Times top 10 best selling non fiction author and CEO of Content Kings. Previous roles include Head of Arts and Popular Culture at ITV Studios, Executive Producer Warner Bros UK, Creative Director Blue Ant Studios and executive producer of the South Bank Show.
Bobby Seagull MBE
Chair of TV/Video judging panel
Bobby Seagull MBE is a maths teacher, broadcaster and CAFOD ambassador (Catholic international development charity). He has shared his own spiritual journey on BBC Two’s Pilgrimage: The Road through Portugal and provides regular ethical insights on BBC Sunday Morning Live. By co-hosting BBC Bitesize GCSE Religious Studies (Catholic Christianity), Bobby continues to foster curiosity and interfaith understanding for the next generation.
Still Shadey
Young Audience Judge
Undeniably one of a kind, MOBO Award-winning Still Shadey is a multifaceted artist, creative architect and electric performer whose impact extends far beyond music. Hailing from Croydon, a town known for producing some of the UK’s most distinct acts, Shadey has carved out his own legacy as one of its precious gems.
Rajini Vaidyanathan
Chair of Journalism judging panel
Rajini Vaidyanathan is an award-winning broadcaster and has worked at the BBC for nearly 20 years. Most recently, Rajini served as the BBC’s South Asia correspondent, and was previously based in Washington DC as a presenter and correspondent. She is now a regular host on the BBC News Channel and presents weekend bulletins on BBC One. This year, Rajini will become part of the line-up on the flagship radio news programme for BBC World Service, Newshour.
Shortlisters
In addition to our judges, we are hugely indebted to our 2026 shortlisters, all of whom lent us their time, energy, enthusiasm and their expertise to the category they were asked to work on. Our thanks to:
Manaal Adam, Michael Anyangbeso, Bridget Cass, Rob Cave, Tim Daykin, Matti Griso Dryer, Shea Ferguson, Mateusz Gasinski, Jess Lewis, Hannah Ludlow, John Matheson, Nana-Adwoa Mbeutcha, Anna McNamee, Dany Mitzman, Vaibhavi Nagda, Angela Robson, David Strachan, Bryony Taylor and Chris Wilson.