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Owen Cooper wins two gongs as Adolescence dominates RTS Programme Awards

A young person with curly brown hair and light eyes, wearing a light-colored collared garment, looks slightly left against a blurred event background.

Published by Cover Media

25 Mar 2026

Owen Cooper has won two trophies at the 2026 Royal Television Society Programme Awards in London.

Cooper won the Breakthrough award and Best Supporting Actor (Male) for his turn in the Netflix drama Adolescence, which also won the gong for Best Limited Series.

His co-star Stephen Graham was nominated for Best Lead Actor (Male) but was pipped at the post by Bobby Schofield, who was handed the trophy for his role as convicted sex offender Joe Mitchell in Jimmy McGovern's Unforgivable.

Narges Rashidi, star of Prisoner 951, took home the Best Lead Actor (Female) award.

The ceremony, which celebrates the cream of British television, took place on Tuesday evening at the Grosvenor House hotel on London's Park Lane. Comedian and presenter Tom Allen returned for the fifth year to host the show.

Kenton Allen, chair of the RTS Programme Awards, gushed: "The RTS Programme Awards celebrate the extraordinary depth of creative talent that defines the UK television industry. Across every genre represented in this year's nominations, we see the craft, originality and ambition that continue to make Britain one of the most admired creative markets in the world."

Here's a highlight list of winners.

Leading Actor - Male: Bobby Schofield - Unforgivable

Leading Actor - Female: Narges Rashidi - Prisoner 951

Supporting Actor - Female: Anna Friel - Unforgivable

Supporting Actor - Male: Owen Cooper - Adolescence

Breakthrough Award: Owen Cooper - Adolescence

Limited Series and Single Drama: Adolescence

Drama Series: Blue Lights

Comedy Drama: Big Boys

Comedy Entertainment: Last One Laughing

Comedy Performance - Female: Philippa Dunne - Amandaland

Comedy Performance - Male: Steve Coogan - How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge)

Published by Cover Media

25 Mar 2026