Winners of the Virgin Money Giving Mind Media Awards 2016 revealed

Cricket legend Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff MBE hosts Mind's annual Media Awards, honouring the very best portrayals and reporting of mental health in the media.

Professor Green, Loose Women and BBC Asian Network were among those awarded honours at tonight’s Mind Media Awards, sponsored by Virgin Money Giving. The event, hosted by Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff MBE, honours the best portrayals and reporting of mental health in the media.

Celebrity guests including Paul Whitehouse, Grayson Perry and Alastair Campbell celebrated broadcasters, bloggers and journalists who have, through compelling, honest and well-crafted work, made a contribution to changing attitudes and tackling mental health stigma.

This year’s winners had a particularly strong showing from investigative journalists who went above and beyond to uncover mental health stories. Michael Buchanan was presented with the award for journalist of the year for his collection of original stories for BBC News illustrating the significant and deep-seated problems at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Intimate documentary My Baby, Psychosis and Me collected the award for best documentary for its reporting of two women’s experiences of postpartum psychosis. BBC Asian Network’s Athar Ahmad was also praised by judges for his two-year quest to document men with body dysmorphic disorder who go to extreme lengths to attain their ‘dream physique’, picking up the radio award.

The impact of local media was highlighted as ITV News Central scooped up the News and Current Affairs award for their consistently impressive coverage of issues such as the challenges facing ethnic minority communities, the growing problem of suicide and the pressures on emergency services.

E4’s My Mad Fat Diary picked up the gong for Drama for its finale series. The programme follows the turbulent journey into adulthood of Rae, played by Sharon Rooney, as she struggles with her mental health. BBC One Scotland’s River City also took home the best soap award for a storyline around self-harming and reaching out for support.

Host Freddie Flintoff, MBE, said: "It’s been an amazing honour to host the Mind Media Awards, particularly because of the massive amount of inspirational and touching work we’ve seen this year. Huge congratulations to all of our winners for their incredibly hard work showing the wider world how to tackle the subject sensitively and honestly and bringing mental health stories to greater public attention."

Broadcaster and University Challenge quiz master Jeremy Paxman was the fitting presenter of the award for Student Journalist of the Year. Without throwing too many tricky questions in their direction he handed the award to Exeter University’s Exeposé Newspaper commending the team for encouraging students at their university to seek help for their mental health.

The blogger of the year award was presented to Rosey Adams for a deeply personal series of blogs exploring her experiences of postnatal and perinatal depression with all of her three children. The judges were particularly impressed that through her blog Rosey has created a network of support for parents facing similar experiences.

The Making a Difference award was presented from one musician to another. Singer and Mind ambassador Frankie Bridge handed the award to Stephen Manderson, better known as Professor Green, rewarding his dedication to campaigning about men’s mental health through his documentaries, music, autobiography and media work. Professor Green has reached new audiences through his commitment to putting a spotlight on male suicide.

Professor Green said: “I realised that the biggest part of the problem with the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and in particular suicide, is that people don’t admit how they feel, they’re not honest about it so I just thought ‘spit it out’. I think the most important thing is that we raise awareness and after awareness will come understanding. I don’t think we can remove the stigma overnight but 2016 has been a year where I have definitely noticed a rise in how prominent it is in the media in whatever shape or form, be it music or TV or documentary. For as long as that conversation stays open things are moving in the right direction.”

A Film category was introduced this year sponsored by cinema chain ODEON. The award, claimed by Disney Pixar film Inside Out, was voted for by film fans with over 1,000 people getting involved over social media. Actor Richard Kind sent a video message to collect the award and guests at the ceremony also heard from young cinema goers about what they love about the animated film’s mental health message.

Bringing the proceedings to a close were EastEnders actors Lacey Turner and James Bye who presented the Speaking Out award, sponsored by Comic Relief. The prize is given to someone connected with one of the shortlisted programmes who has particularly impressed the judges by their honesty and bravery in speaking out. This year it was presented to Eve Canavan and Kathryn Grant whose extensive advice to the researchers, writers and actors of EastEnders shaped one of the biggest soap storylines of the year, Stacey Fowler’s experience of postpartum psychosis after the birth of her son Arthur.

Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind said: “Tonight’s winners have shown us all how vital the media is in creating greater awareness about mental health and, by doing so, challenging attitudes and campaigning against inequalities. The number and the quality of entries continues to grow year on year, which is both hugely encouraging and also a real challenge for our judges. We’ve also seen a real groundswell in support for the Media Awards and so for the first time ever, thanks to our sponsors Virgin Money Giving, we have live streamed the event in order to bring it to a wider audience.

“We know that accurate reporting and portrayal of mental health problems has a hugely positive impact on people with personal experience but, sadly, stigma and discrimination still exists. That’s why we want to thank all our winners and nominees for being brave enough to keep on challenging perceptions and making the voices of the one in four of us who experiences a mental health problem every year heard.”

The awards also included a tribute to journalist, writer, and magazine editor Sally Brampton who sadly passed away earlier this year. Sally had been a Mind Media Awards judge for many years. She brought invaluable insight to the judging panel from her extensive experience both as a journalist and from her own experiences of depression.

Jo Barnett, Executive Director at Virgin Money Giving said: “The Virgin brand is synonymous with innovation and I think it’s brilliant that by Virgin Money Giving partnering with Mind we are able to live stream these awards to a wider audience for the first time'. These awards celebrate the broadcasters, bloggers and journalists who have made a significant contribution to changing attitudes and tackling the stigma of mental health. Virgin Money Giving would like to congratulate all those who have won as well as those who were nominated.”

The full list of Mind Media Award 2016 winners:

Documentaries
My Baby, Psychosis and Me, BBC One (Matchlight and Sprout)

Drama
My Mad Fat diary, E4 (Tiger Aspect)

Entertainment 
Loose Women, ITV

Soaps & Continual Series
River City, BBC One Scotland

Publication 
CALMzine

Radio
Bigorexia: Addicted to Muscle, BBC Asian Network

News and Current Affairs
ITV Central (ITV)

Blogger
Rosey Adams PND & me

Journalist sponsored by Bupa
Michael Buchanan, BBC News

Student Journalist sponsored by Anna Sargent Family Trust
Exeposé Newspaper (Exeter University)

Film sponsored by ODEON
Inside Out (Disney Pixar)

Making a Difference
Professor Green

Speaking Out sponsored by Comic Relief 
Eve Canavan and Kathryn Grant 
For advising on the Eastenders Stacey Fowler storyline about postpartum psychosis

Notes to editors

• Follow the Virgin Money Giving Mind Media Awards on Twitter at #VMGMindAwards
• The Mind Media Awards was held at the Troxy theatre on Monday 14 November 2016. More information can be found at www.mind.org.uk/awards 
• This year’s Mind Media Awards judging panel are: Matt Wilkinson, Toby Castle, Andy McNicoll, Claudia Hammond, Dr Dawn Harper, Victoria Macdonald, Fiona Philips, Denise O’Donaghue, Dr Max Pemberton, Tom Bidwell, Mayer Nissim, Jonny Benjamin, Jane Merkin and Stuart Blackburn.
• Mind Media Awards is sponsored by Virgin Money Giving. Individual category sponsors include Bupa, Comic Relief and ODEON. The Student Journalist award is sponsored by The Anna Sargent Family Trust in memory of Anna Sargent. 
• For more information and interviews please contact E: [email protected] T: 0208 522 1743 M: 07850 788514 ISDN line available: 020 8221 0817.