The National Television Awards has announced its full shortlist for 2026, with the BBC documentary Our Girls: The Southport Families competing for Best Authored Documentary and Race Across the World nominated for Best Reality Competition.
Southport documentary nominated
Our Girls: The Southport Families has been shortlisted for the Best Authored Documentary award. The hour-long BBC programme, released at the end of last year, follows the parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who died in the Southport attack in summer 2024.
Camera crews followed the families through their grief, with deeply personal interviews shown alongside family footage for the first time. The film highlighted the joy the girls brought to others and the legacies their parents are building in their memory: Alice's Wonderdance, Bebe's Hive, and Elsie's Story.
Marathon and royal visit
The documentary also showed Alice and Elsie's dads, Sergio and David, training for and completing the London Marathon to raise funds for their projects and to build a playground at the school attended by two of the girls. Later, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the refurbished playground, with Prince William delivering an emotional speech.
Our Girls faces competition from Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, and Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me.
Other categories
Race Across the World, which saw Liverpool friends Kush Burman and Jo Diop win in May, is up against I'm A Celebrity, I'm A Celebrity South Africa, The Traitors, and The Celebrity Traitors for Best Reality Competition. Other categories include Serial Drama Performance, Quiz Show, and New Drama.
The ceremony takes place on Tuesday, September 8 at the O2 Arena in London. The shortlist also includes nominations for Strictly Come Dancing, The Great British Bake Off, and David Attenborough for TV Presenter.
