The Young Offenders wins Scripted Comedy prize at Royal Television Society award

Cork-based series The Young Offenders has won the Scripted Comedy prize at the Royal Television Society awards, beating Sky One's Brassic and Netflix hit Sex Education in the category.

The hugely successful RTÉ2 and BBC Three show is a spin-off from the acclaimed 2016 film, has run for three seasons thus far. Starring Chris Walley and Alex Murphy, The Young Offenders centres around two loveable teenage bicycle thieves in Cork juggling school, home life, and relationships.

The society’s event was hosted by Jonathan Ross in a virtual ceremony last night, with judges referring to the Irish show's most recent series as “authentic, absurd and hilarious.”

The show’s writer, Peter Foott, was also nominated in the best comedy writer category but was beaten by the writers of Feel Good, Mae Martin and Joe Hampson.

“The incredible range of programming we have seen across all genres and categories in this uniquely challenging year has been exceptional and a terrific representation of the thriving and constantly innovating television industry we have in the UK,” chair of the awards, Kenton Allen, said.

Alex Murphy and Chris Walley were both previously jointly nominated for the best male comedy performance award at the Royal Television Society’s awards in 2019.

The actors also received IFTA nominations for their roles in the 2016 film, with Walley later going on to win the IFTA for best male performance in television in 2017.