National Television Award for Outstanding Drama Series
Annual British television award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Television Award for Most Popular Drama Series is an annual category presented by the National Television Awards (NTA). Established in 1995, the award is determined by public vote.[1]
Awarded forBest Drama Series
CountryUnited Kingdom
First award1995
Currently held byCall the Midwife (2025)
| National Television Award for Most Popular Drama Series | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Drama Series |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First award | 1995 |
| Currently held by | Call the Midwife (2025) |
| Website | nationaltvawards |
Winners and nominees
indicates the winner
1990s
| Year | Show |
|---|---|
| 1995[2] | Soldier Soldier (ITV) |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| Band of Gold (ITV) | |
| Heartbeat (ITV) | |
| 1996[2] | The Bill (ITV) |
| Band of Gold (ITV) | |
| Heartbeat (ITV) | |
| London's Burning (ITV) | |
| 1997[3] | Reckless (ITV) |
| ER (Channel 4/NBC) | |
| London's Burning (ITV) | |
| A Touch of Frost (ITV) | |
| 1998[4] | Jonathan Creek (BBC One) |
| Ballykissangel (BBC One) | |
| Kavanagh QC (ITV) | |
| Where the Heart Is (ITV) | |
| 1999[5] | Goodnight Mister Tom |
| The Bill (ITV) | |
| A Touch of Frost (ITV) | |
| Where the Heart Is (ITV) |
2000s
| Year | Show |
|---|---|
| 2000[6] | Bad Girls (ITV) |
| The Bill (ITV) | |
| A Touch of Frost (ITV) | |
| Where the Heart Is (ITV) | |
| 2001[7] | Bad Girls (ITV) |
| The Bill (ITV) | |
| A Touch of Frost (ITV) | |
| Always and Everyone (ITV) | |
| 2002[8] | Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (BBC One) |
| Bad Girls (ITV) | |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| A Touch of Frost (ITV) | |
| 2003[9] | A Touch of Frost (ITV) |
| Bad Girls (ITV) | |
| Cutting It (BBC One) | |
| The Bill (ITV) | |
| 2004[10] | The Bill (ITV) |
| Bad Girls (ITV) | |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Five\CBS) | |
| Footballers' Wives (ITV) | |
| 2005[11] | Doctor Who (BBC One) |
| Bad Girls (ITV) | |
| Desperate Housewives (Channel 4\ABC) | |
| The Bill (ITV) | |
| 2006[12] | Doctor Who (BBC One) |
| Bad Girls (ITV) | |
| Desperate Housewives (Channel 4\ABC) | |
| Lost (Channel 4/ABC) | |
| 2007[13] | Doctor Who (BBC One) |
| The Bill (ITV1) | |
| Shameless (Channel 4) | |
| Life on Mars (BBC One) | |
| 2008[14] | Doctor Who (BBC One) |
| The Bill (ITV1) | |
| Shameless (Channel 4) | |
| Desperate Housewives (Channel 4/ABC) |
2010s
| Year | Show |
|---|---|
| 2010[15] | Doctor Who (BBC One) |
| The Bill (ITV1) | |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| Shameless (Channel 4) | |
| 2011 | Waterloo Road (BBC One) |
| Doctor Who (BBC One) | |
| Merlin (BBC One) | |
| Sherlock (BBC One) | |
| 2012 | Downton Abbey (ITV) |
| Doctor Who (BBC One) | |
| Merlin (BBC One) | |
| Waterloo Road (BBC One) | |
| 2013 | Downton Abbey (ITV) |
| Doctor Who (BBC One) | |
| Merlin (BBC One) | |
| Sherlock (BBC One) | |
| 2014[16] | Doctor Who (BBC One) |
| Downton Abbey (ITV) | |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| Broadchurch (ITV) | |
| 2015 | Downton Abbey (ITV) |
| Cilla (ITV) | |
| Doctor Who (BBC One) | |
| Sherlock (BBC One) | |
| 2016 | Downton Abbey (ITV) |
| Broadchurch (ITV) | |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| Doctor Who (BBC One) | |
| 2017[17] | Casualty (BBC One) |
| Cold Feet (ITV) | |
| Game of Thrones (Sky Atlantic/HBO) | |
| Happy Valley (BBC One) | |
| The Night Manager (BBC One) | |
| 2018[18] | Doctor Foster (BBC One) |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| Game of Thrones (Sky Atlantic/HBO) | |
| Liar (ITV) | |
| 2019[19] | Peaky Blinders (BBC Two) |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| Doctor Who (BBC One) | |
| Our Girl (BBC One) | |
2020s
Note: Beginning 2021, the National Television Awards changed the "Drama" category to "Returning Drama".
| Year | Show |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Peaky Blinders (BBC Two) |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| Casualty (BBC One) | |
| Killing Eve (BBC One/BBC America) | |
| Line of Duty (BBC One) | |
| 2021[20][21] | Line of Duty (BBC One) |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| The Crown (Netflix) | |
| Unforgotten (ITV) | |
| 2022[20][22] | Peaky Blinders (BBC One) |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| Bridgerton (Netflix) | |
| The Split (BBC One) | |
| 2023[23][20] | Happy Valley (BBC One) |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| Stranger Things (Netflix) | |
| Vera (ITV) | |
| 2024[24] | Bridgerton (Netflix) |
| Call the Midwife (BBC One) | |
| The Crown (Netflix) | |
| Trigger Point (ITV1) | |
| Vera (ITV1) |
Multiple wins
Multiple nominations
- 12 nominations
- Doctor Who (11 consecutive)
- 10 nominations
- The Bill (3 consecutive)
- 8 nominations
- 7 nominations
- Bad Girls (consecutive)
- Call the Midwife (consecutive)
- 6 nominations
- 5 nominations
- Downton Abbey (consecutive)
- 3 nominations
- 2 nominations