2016 Sandford St Martin Awards Judges
Sandford St Martin judges represent some of the best of the UK’s broadcasting and journalism industries. They’re chosen to represent a wide and rich variety of media experience, backgrounds and experiences of faith or spirituality. What they have in common is their skill, professionalism and commitment to excellence in broadcasting.
Navid Akhtar
Radio Judge
Navid Akhtar is the founder and CEO of Alchemiya.com and an award winning Television and Radio producer.
Anna Bassi
Children’s Judge
Anna Bassi is the editor of The Week Junior – an award-winning current affairs magazine for children 8 to 14 years old.
Rev Kate Bottley
TV Judge
Kate Bottley is a priest and a regular contributor to Channel 4’s “Gogglebox“. Earlier this year she also presented “In the Footsteps of Judas” for BBC One.
Frank Cottrell Boyce
Chair of Children’s Judges
Frank Cottrell Boyce is a screenwriter, occasional actor, a much-loved children’s novelist and the chair of the panel judging this year’s Children’s Award. His most recent book is ‘Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth‘.
James Cary
TV Judge
James Cary is a sitcom writer with a long list of credits including “Bluestone 42”, “Miranda” and “My Family” for TV, and, “Thanks A lot, Milton Jones!” and “Think the Unthinkable” for radio. And he blogs.
Felicity Finch
Radio Judge
Felicity Finch is an actress 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’.
David Hallam
Children’s Judge
David Hallam is the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Three Arrows Media. Before that he was Head of Development for multinational production companies such as The Foundation/Zodiak Kids and Initial/Endemol.
Rev Sally Hitchener
Interview Judge
Sally Hitchener is an Anglican priest, a Coordinating Chaplain and Interfaith Adviser at Brunel University, the National Director of Diverse Church, a writer and broadcaster.
Mark Lawson
Chair of Radio Judges
Mark Lawson is a broadcaster, writer and journalist and the Chair of our radio judging panel.
Jonathan Levi
TV Judge
Jonathan Levi is an Executive Producer at Renegade Pictures. His previous roles include Head of Arts and Popular Culture at ITV and Executive Producer of The South Bank Show.
Sue MacGregor
Chair of the Interview of the Year Judges
Sue MacGregor is one of the UK’s best known broadcast journalists and is chairing the Awards new Interview category. A former ‘Today’ programme presenter, she now presents the award-winning programme ‘The Reunion‘ on BBC Radio 4.
Rachel Moseley
Children’s Judge
Rachel Moseley is Associate Professor in Film & Television Studies at Warwick University and the Director of the Centre for Television History, Heritage and Memory Research. She’s curated two exhibitions about children’s television currently open to the public: The Story of Children’s Television from 1946 to Today (touring) and Clangers, Bagpuss & Co (at the V&A Museum of Childhood until October 2016).
Nabila Ramdani
Interview Judge
Nabila Ramdani is an award-winning French-Algerian journalist, columnist and broadcaster specialising in French politics, Islamic Affairs, and, the Arab world. She is a regular contributor to many of the UK’s major broadsheets as well as to international publications such as the NY Times and Le Monde.
Barbara Serra
Chair of TV Judges
Barbara Serra is a correspondent and news presenter for Al Jazeera English.
Seán Street
Radio Judge
Seán Street is a writer, poet, broadcaster and was Britain’s first Professor of Radio.
Shortlisters
In addition to our judges, we are indebted to our 2016 shortlisters all of whom have have direct and relevant broadcasting experience in the category they were asked to work on. Together they whittled down a record number of entries. This year’s shortlisters included:
Roger Bolton, Catherine Carr, Olive Clancy, Torin Douglas, Hugh Faupel, Oliver File, Flora Gregory, Natasha Maw, Anna McNamee, Pete Rawlings, Angela Robson, Paresh Solanki, Penelope Solomon and Bryony Taylor.