RadioTimes.com Awards 2021: Vote now for the Best Drama

Read on for the nominees, and be sure to vote in the poll – the poll is open between 2nd February 2021 (9am) and 14th February (5pm) so make sure you have your say before time runs out.

The results of the RadioTimes.com Awards will be announced on 7th March 2021.

Bridgerton

Bridgerton was released on Christmas Day, and although it wasn't exactly what anyone would call 'family viewing' (younger viewers soon expressed their regret at watching the - ahem - steamy drama alongside their parents), it certainly brought the nation together.

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Narrated by Julie Andrews, the series is based on Julia Quinn's novels and follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), the eldest daughter of an influential family, as she embarks on her first social season 'out' and begins looking for a suitable husband, enlisting the help of confirmed bachelor Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) along the way.

The Crown

Viewers returned once more to Buckingham Palace for the fourth instalment of Netflix's flagship series The Crown, with two key cast additions: Emma Corrin as Diana Spencer (later Princess of Wales) and Gillian Anderson as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The season also marked Olivia Colman's last stint as Queen Elizabeth II before she passes the baton onto Imelda Staunton, who follows in the footsteps of both Colman and Claire Foy (who portrayed the monarch for the first two seasons).

Normal People

Based on Sally Rooney's book of the same name, BBC Three's adaptation of Normal People proved a record-breaker for BBC iPlayer, and earned series co-lead Paul Mescal an Emmy nod to boot.

Starring Mescal (as Connell) and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Marianne), the drama follows two Irish teenagers - one a popular sports player, the other a social outcast - who begin a secret relationship while still at school, before both win places to study at Trinity College, Dublin, where they reunite, their power dynamic now reversed.

I May Destroy You

I May Destroy You, the blistering series created by and starring Chewing Gum star Michaela Coel, proved an instant hit for the BBC. “Fearless, frank and provocative,” this deeply personal show about consent and modern dating centres on Arabella (Coel), a novelist who is sexually assaulted in a nightclub.

The searing, occasionally surreal series won rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, with particular praise directed at the I May Destroy You finale.

Des

Des, starring David Tennant, captured the nation's attention with the gripping true crime story behind serial killer Dennis Nilsen (played by Tennant), who murdered at least 12 men and boys in London before his arrest in 1983.

The ITV drama focuses on what happened following that capture, focussing on the arrest and subsequent trial through the eyes of three men: Nilsen, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay, and Nilsen's biographer Brian Masters.

Small Axe

Starring the likes of Black Panther’s Letitia Wright and Star Wars' John Boyega, Small Axe is an anthology series by legendary British director and creative Steve McQueen, focussing on London’s West Indian community from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s.

The five feature-length episodes include the real-life stories of the ‘Mangrove Nine’, award-winning writer Alex Wheatle (Sheyi Cole), and of Leroy Logan (Boyega), a Black police constable.

Call the Midwife

Call the Midwife returned, against all the odds, for a Christmas special at the end of last year, with filming finally taking place on a “COVID-safe” set following six months of long delays and set-backs.

Starring Jenny Agutter, Helen George and Stephen McGann, the much-needed special was set in December 1965 and saw the arrival of a travelling circus. Meanwhile Call the Midwife season 10 is set to air later this year.

The Queen’s Gambit

The release of Netflix period drama The Queen's Gambit saw an upsurge of interest in the game of chess - and with such an advocate as stylish chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), it's no wonder.

Red-haired orphan Beth grows up in a Kentucky orphanage in the late 1950s, but her genius chess skills take her across the globe. Unfortunately, her private demons and addictions also follow Beth into adulthood.

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