University News Last updated 06 March 2013
Former police detective Mark Williams-Thomas, alongside ITV, has won two Royal Television Society (RTS) Television Journalism awards for its coverage of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal.
Graduate Mark, was praised for his year-long investigative work which ultimately opened up a criminal investigation that helped to uncover one of Britain’s most ‘prolific sex offenders’.
ITV’s documentary, ‘Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile’, fronted by the university lecturer, picked up the awards for Scoop of the Year and Best Current Affairs – Home programme.
In an official statement, RTS said: “Jury members thought the winner was a sensation without ever being sensationalist. They felt an investigative challenge which had defeated other media organisations over decades had been achieved with commitment, skill and sensitivity.
“The programme-makers had given a voice to victims who had always been denied one, with unprecedented impact across many British institutions.”
Leading child protection expert Mark has continuously received praise from his peers, for the work he has put into such a sensitive case. Vicky Frost, Editor of the Guardian Television and Radio said: “Exposure was not a documentary about wrongdoings and mistakes at the BBC. It was a meticulously researched story of how children had been failed.”
The prestigious awards ceremony, hosted by Sky News anchor, Jeremy Thompson, was held on Wednesday 20 February 2013 in London. The RTS Television Journalism Awards were founded in 1978 to recognise creative and excellent journalism by organisations whose broadcasts are received in the UK and by the agencies which supply UK news broadcasters. View Mark’s acceptance speech.