Sandford St Martin Awards
Why religious broadcasting?
In our increasingly divided and fast-changing world, understanding what people believe has never been more important.
Religion – whether you’re a believer or not – shapes not just how the vast majority of the world’s population view their place in the world, but also how they view yours.
At the Sandford St Martin Trust we believe religious literacy is a basic skill every citizen needs. Thought-provoking, high-quality media that engages with faith, ethics and spirituality are essential to building a healthy, informed, and cohesive society.
Discover why leading media figures and past award winners like Jimmy McGovern, Frank Cottrell Boyce, and Lyse Doucet think religious broadcasting is important. Read our blog for more or watch the 2025 awards ceremony overture below to get a flavour of the inspirational content championed by the Sandford St Martin Trust.
Outreach and advocacy
The time to act is now.
Content exploring faith, belief, and ethics is disappearing from UK screens — just when understanding across differences has never been more vital. This is not a minority interest, but essential to how we make sense of who we are and how we live together.
The Sandford St Martin Trust champions and protects this vital storytelling. Beyond our awards, we advocate for balanced, thoughtful media that reflects the diversity of belief shaping our world.
Through events, public submissions, and partnerships we’re building evidence, dialogue, and new ways of evaluating public service media in the digital age.
We need broadcasters, policymakers, and audiences to take action:
- Recognise faith and ethics content as essential public service.
- Prioritise it in commissioning and strategy.
- Support work that builds understanding across communities.
Together, we can ensure UK media continues to reflect the full richness of who we are.
The Sandford St Martin Awards
The Sandford St Martin 2025 Award winners were announced at a ceremony held at Lambeth Palace on 17 June 2025, when a Special Award was also presented to Horrible Histories and director Peter Kosminsky received the Sandford St Martin 2025 Trustees’ Award. Congratulations to all this year’s finalists in the TV/Video, Radio/Audio, Journalism and Young Audience categories and the Radio Times’ Readers Award nominees.
For almost 50 years the Sandford St Martin Awards have celebrated the best of this kind of broadcasting. Our judges are particularly interested in content which promotes a better understanding about how religions or belief affect the world we live in.
The Sandford St Martin 2026 Awards will open for entries in November this year. If you’d like be reminded either follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter.
In the meantime, you can find out more about the four categories and eligibility criteria, or, if you’re looking for inspiration, you can watch the overture to this year’s awards ceremony featuring some of our 2025 finalists, below.