ITV Thriller Awards - Sherlock Holmes nominated!

THE GAME’S UP... THE SPECSAVERS CRIME THRILLER AWARDS UNVEIL THE FILM & TV SHORTLISTS

Acclaimed TV Revival Sherlock Lands Coveted ‘Dagger’ Nomination

It is edge of your seat action as the third inaugural Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards return to the small screen on Tuesday 12th October on ITV3, with a thrilling line up of nominees plucked from the worlds of crime literature and entertainment. Big name stars from across film and TV drama go head to head when the ‘Daggers’ are dished out in an evening guaranteed to hold nominees and viewers in suspense…

Celebrating the books, the blockbusters and the TV dramas that send shivers down the spine and put supreme sleuthing skills to the test, the coveted awards are presented in a glamorous gala ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House.

Competition is fierce across the categories, especially in this year’s TV Dagger, which sees Britain’s best loved detectives vying for pole position – sleuth of the moment Sherlock, which returned to BBC One to critical acclaim this year and propelled newcomer Benedict Cumberbatch to mass popularity, goes up against Ashes to Ashes (Kudos), nominated for a third year running, Luther (BBC) and Wallander (Left Bank Pictures).

Meanwhile, it’s a blockbuster battle in the Film Dagger section, as Sherlock Holmes makes his second appearance of the night – this time the Warner movie adaptation faces rival Inception, Stieg Larsson’s bestseller The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Sony’s District Nine. In this unique event that combines all genres of crime and thriller fiction, big name authors also find themselves on the hot lists for one of the milestone events in the literary calendar.

In a star studded affair, high profile faces from international stage and screen vie for best actor, actress and supporting role ‘Daggers’ – amongst the top name nominees are Kenneth Branagh, Glenn Close, Philip Glenister, Laurence Fox and former Dagger winner Hermione Norris. Meanwhile Benedict Cumberbatch, TV’s man of the moment, is hoping to seize The Best Actor TV Dagger, against stiff competition from Branagh, Glenister and Idris Elba.

International Criminal fiction is also celebrated as the International TV Dagger lands Wallander a second nomination, against The Good Wife (CBS) and Damages (Sony Pictures).

The Awards are the culmination of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Season. ITV3 is running a 6 week season of brand new crime and thriller documentaries focusing on twelve of TV’s greatest fictional detectives and showcasing shortlisted books for the Crime Writer’s Association Dagger. Each featured detective is a nominee for ‘The People’s Detective’ Dagger for whom the public get to vote at www.itv.com/drama/crimethrillerawards/ -- the winner will be announced at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards.

Drawing extensively on archive from ITV’s impressive crime thriller back catalogue, each profile show features two of the nation’s best loved TV detectives, examining their quirks and foibles and re-visiting their most challenging cases. In addition to revealing behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes, there are newly filmed interviews with the stars of the shows and the creators of the TV’s biggest screen sleuths alongside their famous fans.

The 2010 Awards – the third annual event produced by Cactus TV for ITV3, is sponsored by Specsavers and made in conjunction with the Crime Writers’ Association – will take place on the evening of Friday October 8th in the Ballroom of the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. The Awards will be screened on ITV3 the following week.

The full shortlist in the film and TV categories is:

THE FILM DAGGER
District 9 (Sony Pictures)
Inception (Warner Bros)
Sherlock Holmes (Warner Bros)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Momentum Pictures)

The TV DAGGER
Ashes to Ashes (Series 3) (Kudos)
Luther (BBC)
Sherlock (BBC)
Wallander (Series 2) (Left Bank Pictures)

THE INTERNATIONAL TV DAGGER
Damages (Season 3) (Sony Pictures)
The Good Wife (Season 1) (CBS)
Wallander (Series 2) (Yellow Bird Films)

THE BEST ACTRESS DAGGER
Glenn Close (Damages)
Hermione Norris (Spooks)
Keeley Hawes (Ashes to Ashes & Identity)
Maxine Peake (Criminal Justice)
Sue Johnston (Waking the Dead)

THE BEST ACTOR DAGGER
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock)
Idris Elba (Luther)
Kenneth Branagh (Wallander)
Philip Glenister (Ashes to Ashes)

THE BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR DAGGER
Laurence Fox (Lewis)
Matthew Macfadyen (Criminal Justice)
Rupert Graves (Sherlock)
Tom Hiddleston (Wallander)

THE BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS DAGGER
Dervla Kirwan (The Silence)
Gina McKee (The Silence)
Saskia Reeves (Luther)
Sophie Okonedo (Criminal Justice)

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NOTES TO EDITORS:
Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards
The Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards 2010 will take place on Friday, 8th October at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel and will be televised on ITV3 on Tuesday 12th October. The 2010 Awards are the third annual produced by Cactus TV for ITV3, and the second annual sponsored by Specsavers and in conjunction with the Crime Writers' Association.

Specsavers
Specsavers was founded by Doug and Dame Mary Perkins in 1984 and is now the largest privately owned opticians in the world. The couple still run the company, along with their three children. Their eldest son John is joint managing director. Specsavers has more than 1,500 stores throughout the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Annual turnover for the Specsavers Group is forecast to reach £1.55 billion in 2010/11. Specsavers was voted Britain’s most trusted brand of opticians for the ninth year running by Reader’s Digest in 2010. More information can be found at: www.specsavers.co.uk

Cactus TV
Cactus TV is a member of the ALL3MEDIA group and run by husband and wife team Simon and Amanda Ross. Productions include Saturday Kitchen for BBC1, The TV Book Club for Channel4, Hairy Bikers Food Tour of Britain for BBC2, Rachel Allen, Galaxy British Book Awards and 8 years of the Richard & Judy show live from Cactus studios.

ITV3
ITV3’s focus on character driven narrative and drama helps the channel attract an upmarket audience – with 67% of ABC1 adults watching the channel in 2009. ITV3 is available on Freeview (channel 10), Freesat (115), Sky Digital (119) and Virgin Media (116).

Crime Writers’ Association
The Crime Writers’ Association has a membership of over 450 writers of fiction and non-fiction. Its main aims are to promote the crime genre and to support professional writers. The CWA has been providing social and professional support for its members for more than half a century, as well as administering the prestigious Dagger Awards. The Daggers name and Crossed Daggers logo are registered Trade Marks of the Crime Writers’ Association, and are used under licence. For further information on the CWA: www.thecwa.co.uk or contact info@thecwa.co.uk.

Tickets
Tickets for the televised Awards event on October 8th 2010 will be limited (tables of 10 and individual tickets are available). For ticket information, please email Merric Davidson, Agile Marketing: merric@agile-ideas.com
The 2010 Book Category Shortlists as previously announced:

CWA GOLD DAGGER 2010
Blacklands Belinda Bauer Corgi/Transworld
Blood Harvest S J Bolton Bantam Press/Transworld
Shadowplay Karen Campbell Hodder & Stoughton
The Way Home George Pelecanos Orion

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER 2010, SPONSORED BY IAN FLEMING PUBLICATIONS LTD
A Loyal Spy Simon Conway Hodder & Stoughton
Innocent Scott Turow Mantle
The Dying Light Henry Porter Orion
The Gentlemen's Hour Don Winslow Heinemann/Random House

CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER 2010
Acts of Violence Ryan David Jahn Macmillan New Writing
Rupture Simon Lelic Picador
The Holy Thief William Ryan Mantle
The Pull of the Moon Diane Janes Constable & Robinson

Media enquiries:
Please contact Julia Walker at Midas Public Relations on 020 7361 7860 or julia.walker@midaspr.co.uk