It's no surprise that Russell T Davies did a brilliant and heartbreaking acceptance speech after winning a RTS award for It's A Sin, his emotional smash hit Channel 4 drama. The writer picked up the writing award for drama and best limited series during the ceremony on Tuesday, March 29.
It's A Sin aired in January 2021 and blew viewers away with its unbearably sad, and yet colourfully inspiring, stories of a group of LGBT friends who live through the growing Aids crisis of the 1980s. Star Callum Scott Howells also won Best Actor (Male) for his role as Colin, more on that here.
And when Davies, who's currently elbow-deep in steering the new era of Doctor Who for the BBC once more, took to the stage he made a wonderful call to action for Gary Neville to become an MP and slap Boris Johnson, praised Channel 4's other winners on the night and remembered the people who inspired the It's A Sin story.
Read more on Russell: How Wales' most successful screenwriter drew from his own life to smash barrier after barrier
He said: "It was a difficult show to get made and a difficult topic to write about. It's about extraordinary times back in the '80s when we sent our best friends back home to their childhood bedrooms to die while their parents hid them from the neighbours.
"So it's those people, men, women and children. I want to dedicate this to. Those we lost, those who lived, those who learnt and those we love."
Walking on the stage to cheers Russell immediately called out the government for "wanting to sell off Channel 4" and listed fellow winners on the night from the channel including Mo Gilligan, Anjana Vasan for We Are Lady Parts and the documentary Rape: Who's on Trial?
Writer David Opie wrote on Twitter that the speech moved him to tears, he said: "Russell T Davies moved me to tears with his acceptance speech for It’s A Sin, one of the best and most important shows I will probably see in my lifetime." See David's video of Russell's speech,
It's A Sin was critically and publicly acclaimed and walked away with three awards at the RTS ceremony and it's also racked up 11 nominations at next month's TV Baftas ceremony, for Director: Fiction, Editing Fiction, Make-up & Hair Design, Scripted Casting, Writer, Drama, Leading Actor , Leading Actress, Mini-Series and Supporting Actor.
Find out how It's A Sin, In My Skin and Callum fare at The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards on Sunday, May 8. For more TV news, click here.
