The Grierson Trust has announced the nominations for the 2025 British Documentary Awards.
The list spans 14 programme categories, reflecting the best documentary singles and series launched across broadcasters, streamers, and online, as well as theatrical releases, alongside the Best Documentary Presenter award.
The BBC tops this year’s awards longlist with 19 nominations across its channels and on iPlayer, followed by Channel 4 with eight, Sky Documentaries with five, Netflix with three, Prime Video, ITV, National Geographic, and MUBI with two, and one each for Disney+, TNT Sports, and RTE.
Lorraine Heggessey, Chair of the Grierson Trust, said: “This year’s Grierson Award nominations showcase the incredible talent of documentary filmmakers from a wide range of backgrounds. I’m especially pleased to see the growing number of female directors recognised, given how long this has been a challenge for our industry. The rise in documentaries directed by women reflects the efforts of commissioners, production companies and others who are working to redress the balance and support female creative talent. These nominations also highlight the continuing strength and appeal of observational documentaries, at a time when many in the industry have been questioning their role and relevance within an evolving television landscape.”
The awards ceremony will take place on November 18 at Roundhouse in Camden, London.
The Grierson Trust, 2025 British Documentary Awards, Full List of Nominations:
Best Single Documentary – Domestic
- Groomed: A National Scandal
- The Search for Nicola Bulley
- Undercover: Exposing the Far Right
- Witches
Best Single Documentary – International
- Black Box Diaries
- No Other Land
- Sugarcane
- The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Best Current Affairs Documentary
- Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?
- Life and Death in Gaza
- Maternity: Broken Trust
- Small Town, Big Riot – Episode 2
Best Arts and Music Documentary
- In My Own Words: Alison Lapper
- Music by John Williams
- The Trouble with Mr Doodle
- Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Best Sports Documentary
- Four Kings – Rise of the Kings
- Sven
- Unbreakable: England 2003
- Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire
Best History Documentary
- Atomic People
- Children of the Cult
- The Zelensky Story – Episode 1
- What They Found
Best Science and Natural History Documentary
- Apollo 13: Survival
- Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story
- Nocturnes
- Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey
Best Crime and Justice Documentary
- Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park – Episode 1
- Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube – Episode 1
- The Wrong Man
- Zurawski v Texas
Best Popular Culture Documentary
- Boyzone: No Matter What
- Grand Theft Hamlet
- Rose Ayling Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks
- Virgin Island – Episode 6
Best Documentary Series
- Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park
- Chimp Crazy
- Kill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies
- Tsunami: Race Against Time
Best Returning Documentary Series
- 24 Hours in Police Custody
- Life and Death Row
- Murder Trial: Girl in the River
- Surgeons: At the Edge of Life
Best Cinema Documentary
- Agent of Happiness
- Mediha
- Motherboard
- No Other Land
Best Student Documentary
- Hooked
- One More Cup of Coffee for Ambe’
- Two Days on the Interstate
- Welcome Home Freckles
Best Documentary Short
- Chernobyl: My Promised Land
- Equal Play
- Songs from Inside
- This Is Endometriosis
Best Documentary Presenter
- Blindboy Boatclub – Blindboy: The Land of Slaves & Scholars
- Mobeen Azhar – Small Town, Big Riot – Episode 2
- Poppy Jay – Young, British and Anti-Abortion
- Rose Ayling Ellis – Rose Ayling Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks
