Presentation of the Daily Mail National Television Awards for 1954-1955.
(See facing page)

The Winners of the 1954-5 'Daily Mail' National Television Awards
which will be presented in 'This is Television,' a show from the Scala Theatre on Sunday evening

Benny Hill, who is named as 'Personality of the Year' and whose picture appears on our front cover, is twenty-nine years old and comes from Southampton. His first television appearance was in The Centre Show in 1953. It was as compere of Showcase that he made his reputation, appearing in an extraordinary variety of disguises and guying a great many television programmes and personalities. The second edition of his own monthly Benny Hill Show will be televised on Saturday.

Anne Crawford is very much a Scottish lass though she was in fact born in Haifa. She was a student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art; from there went into repertory in York and Manchester and then into films. In television last year she played in the Donald Wilson serial The Six Proud Walkers and in Waiting for Gillian, the play Ronald Miller made from Nigel Balchin's novel A Way Through the Wood. Miss Crawford is married to Wallace Douglas, the producer; they have a flat in London and a cottage in Bucks. It is hoped that Miss Crawford will appear in April in another serial - a sequel to The Six Proud Walkers.

Patrick Barr, who was born in India, went into engineering after graduating from Oxford, then took up acting and made his first West End appearance in 1932. He has appeared in a great many television plays, notably Julius Caesar, Richard II, The Final Test, and The Troubled Air. Last year he played in the Francis Durbridge serial The Teckmann Biography and in Waiting for Gillian. He returns to television on Wednesday, February 16, in another Durbridge serial, Portrait of Alison.

Filming in Africa is the direct result of the 'exploring with a camera' which Armand and Michaela Denis have been doing for most of their lives. Their feature films include Savage Splendour and Below the Sahara. It was while on an expedition in Ecuador that Michaela met Armand who was leading an expedition of his own. Their home is in Nairobi on an estate that boasts a pride of lions. They also have a flat in Florida but seldom see it. The day after they receive their award they set out on another expedition 'filming in Africa.'

Ask Pickles was first presented on May 28 last year and was an immediate success. Pickles has suggested part of the reason for the show's popularity: 'Mine is perhaps the only television programme with more material than it can possibly use up. My source of supply is the ordinary people. No scriptwriter could be expected to think up what tens of thousands of people can contribute from their own lives.' The rest of the answer lies of course in the skill, spontaneity, homeliness and humour of Pickles - and of his wife Mabel who now appears regularly in the programme.

The Promised Years was a cycle of four plays: The Liberators, set in Italy in 1945; The Good Partners, in Berlin at the time of the air-lift; The Small Victory, in Korea in 1951; Return to the River, again in Italy but in 1954. The author, Iain MacCormick, is thirty-six years old and an Australian whose thoughts first turned to play-writing when he was a prisoner-of-war in Greece. He now lives in Somerset with his wife and seven-year-old son.

The Appleyards are television's senior family, having first appeared in October, 1952. The scripts are written by Allan Cooper and by David Edwards (who also plays John Appleyard) and the family's adventures are always linked with everyday things. As Cooper puts it: 'The Appleyards don't fly to the moon or battle with Red Indians... and if Tommy Appleyard met a dragon he would most probably try to have a ride on its back.' The family, which also won this award last year, returns to Children's Television early in April.

[Photo captions]
Anne Crawford - The Outstanding Actress
The Award
Patrick Barr - The Outstanding Actor
Filming in Africa - Armand and Michaela Denis win the award for the best Documentary or Factual Programme
Ask Pickles - Wilfred Pickles and the ever helpful Mabel provided the Most Entertaining Programme
The Promised Years - A scene from 'The Liberators,' part of the play-cycle by Iain MacCormick which wins the award for the Play of the Year
The Appleyards - Television's oldest family, 'The Appleyards,' will receive the National Children's Television Award on Sunday afternoon.

Also taking part: Bernard Braden, Pearl Carr, Benny Lee, Nat Temple, Ronald Fletcher, Jacqueline Delman, Jack Billings, The Five D'Angolys, The Peter Knight Singers