John Sergeant to host Mind Mental Health Media Awards

Posted Friday 12 November 2010

Award-winning journalist and broadcaster John Sergeant will host this year’s Mind Mental Health Media Awards on Monday 22 November 2010. The annual awards ceremony recognises and rewards the best portrayals of mental distress and reporting of mental health in broadcast and new media.

A former Chief Political Correspondent for the BBC and Political Editor at ITN, John also became the unlikely star of Strictly Come Dancing in 2008. He said:

I am delighted to host this year’s Mind Mental Health Media Awards. The media has enormous power to shape perspectives of mental health and challenge the stigma around these conditions.

With one in four people in the UK experiencing a mental health problem at some time in their life, it is vital that we celebrate the actors, writers, programme makers and journalists who help to reduce discrimination and bring old misconceptions to an end.

The awards ceremony, which takes place at the British Film Institute in London, recognises programmes that have given a voice to people with experience of mental distress. These examples give the real story about mental health, uncovering injustice and prejudice, and having an enormous impact on the people they reach.

Highlights of the shortlist include Eastenders and Emmerdale going head-to-head in the soap category, while Dr Who and Shameless are both nominated in the drama field. Inside Sport is among the documentary nominees for its investigation into depression in sport.

Mind Chief Executive Paul Farmer said:

We are delighted to have such a respected and distinguished media figure as John to host this year’s Mind Mental Health Media Awards. This year’s nominations reflect some of the excellent work that has been done to improve depictions of mental health across television, radio and new media. There is still much to do however, with negative portrayals and unsympathetic descriptions of mental distress still all too common.

This year’s judging panel includes BAFTA award-winning scriptwriter Jimmy McGovern, best known for gritty dramas such as The Street and Cracker, and David Lloyd, former Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4 where he founded both the Dispatches and Unreported World series.

• For more information about the Mind Mental Health Media Awards click here.

• To view this year's nominations click here.

• If you are a member of the Media and would like to contact the Mind Media team, click here.

<  Return to news