Hazel Irvine admits she is ‘overwhelmed’ to be one of two people to receive a BAFTA Scotland Special Award at next month’s ceremony in Glasgow.
The broadcaster will be honoured at the event in November along with the casting director behind Top Boy, Des Hamilton.
The BAFTA Scotland Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting will be presented to Ms Irvine, who is best known for her roles fronting the coverage of World Snooker Championships on the BBC as well as the Olympics.
She has been a trailblazer for women in sports broadcasting for more than 35 years having started her career with STV’s Scotsport in 1987.
Her impressive career has seen her present and report from 18 different Summer and Winter Olympics, cover golf for 25 years and snooker for 23 years among others.
The 59-year-old has also worked on four World Cup Finals, the London Marathon, Grandstand, the Boat Race, Wimbledon, Final Score and Channel 4’s women’s football programmes of the 1980s.
The St Andrews born presenter has also hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics since 2006, including the London 2012 when 28 million people listened to her.
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And she said: “I feel overwhelmed and honoured to join the list of Scottish actors, presenters, writers, directors, producers and “Doctor Who’s” who have received this award over the last two decades. I have admired and looked up to these individuals for much of my life.
“Thank you to BAFTA Scotland for such an amazing and unexpected honour.”
Mr Hamilton will be presented the BAFTA Scotland Award for Outstanding Contribution to Craft in memory of Robert McCann. The casting director will receive the award which is presented to a Scottish individual who has made significant contributions to the film, games and television industries through expertise in their craft.
He has more than 20 years of experience in film and television after starting in 2001 following a chance meeting with director Lynne Ramsay.
She enlisted the help of Mr Hamilton to seek out non-actors to play a role opposite Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar. He discovered Kathleen McDermott in Glasgow city centre, with McDermott going on to be recognised with a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Acress in a Feature Film.
He became well known within the industry for his methods of street-casting, and that helped discover Thomas Turgoose, who rose to fame in This is England despite having no prior experience in acting.
In addition to his notable work with Ramsay and Meadows, his casting agency has engaged with a broad range of critically acclaimed directors such as Nicolas Winding Refn, Gaspar Noe, Andrea Arnold, Taika Waititi, Lone Scherfig and Lars Von Trier.
In television, Hamilton is perhaps most recognised for casting the BAFTA-award winning Top Boy. This achievement earned him the very first BAFTA TV Award for Scripted Casting in 2020.
Speaking about his award, he said: “Ultimately, I'm flattered. It's not natural for me to think about stuff like this.
“I’m proud that the work myself and my team do is being recognised by BAFTA and BAFTA Scotland, and that the work I’ve done has made my mum very happy!”
Earlier this year, BAFTA Scotland presented a special award for Outstanding Contribution to Film to producer, writer, curator and film festival director Lynda Myles at a special event held during the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
The award celebrated the mark she has left on the industry as well as the fact she was the first woman to ever be appointed as a director of a film festival when she did so in Edinburgh in 1973.
Speaking in August, she said: “I’m deeply touched to be this year’s recipient of the BAFTA Scotland Outstanding Contribution to Film Award. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to run the Edinburgh International Film festival in the 70s and that experience shaped all my future involvement with different aspects of the industry.
“I’ve enjoyed so many collaborative relationships on which the film industry thrives and am so grateful for the fantastic support I’ve received. Huge thanks to BAFTA Scotland for this honour which I’m delighted to accept.”
The BAFTA Scotland Awards 2024 will take place on Sunday 17 November at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central.
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