Virgin Media Inc. : Cheryl Cole crowned best reality TV judge of 2011

20 Jan 2012

Following controversial axing from The X Factor USA, TV fans have their say in the Virgin Media TV Awards

· BBC triumphs over ITV to take Channel of the Year

· Doctor Who scoops TV Show of the Year

· Doctor Who star Karen Gillan wins Best Actress and Hottest Female

TV fans have voted in their thousands and the results are in for the Virgin Media TV Awards 2011, revealing that a controversial year for many hasn't turned viewers off.

Fans show no sign of giving up on Cheryl Cole this side of the pond, as she has topped the list of Best TV Judges, despite appearing in just two episodes of TheX Factor USA before she was axed. She even pipped her one-time mentor and creator of the show, Simon Cowell, to first place as he came a close second, with less than one per cent of the votes between them.

The new XFactor judges, Gary Barlow and Tulisa, secured a respectable fourth and fifth place in the poll, despite media criticism and a turbulent year for the show. The Take That front man was robbed of third place by charismatic Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli with just a few votes separating the pair.

The BBC also had a rough ride in 2011 with speculation around some potentially misleading footage from popular documentary Frozen Planet. However, despite viewer complaints, fans of the show proved undeterred as they voted David Attenborough's icy documentary as the Best Documentary with a whopping 35 per cent of the votes. In second place, but still some way behind, was Professor Brian Cox's BBC Two documentary, Wonders of the Universe, with just 16 per cent of the votes.

The success of its documentary shows, alongside the ratings war win from Strictly Come Dancing, may well have helped the BBC storm ahead in the poll to be crowned Channel of the Year with well over 50 per cent of the votes. Despite bringing us the much-loved show Downton Abbey, ITV held second place with just ten per cent of the votes.

Although there was some disappointment for the channel, Downton Abbey continued its awards success by taking top place in the Best Drama category. Following Sunday night's Golden Globe win and news that producers are in talks about a feature-length film, the popular period drama took a massive 45 per cent of the votes. No other show even came close in the category with other award season favourites Luther and The Hour taking just eight per cent and four per cent of the votes respectively.

Other big wins came for 'the Doctor's' assistant Karen Gillan, who took Best Actress and Hottest Female, particularly appropriate as she is about to be seen playing supermodel Jean Shrimpton in a one-off BBC Four drama. McFly drummer Harry Judd waltzed his way to the top, to be voted Reality TV Star of the Year for his show stopping performance on Strictly Come Dancing.

Nick Forward, editor-in-chief of digital entertainment at Virgin Media said: "With the National TV Awards just around the corner it's fantastic for us to be able to get a sneak preview of how fans may vote when it comes to their TV favourites. You can never predict results when it's down to the viewers and it's great to see that the most avid TV fans aren't swayed by media speculation and controversy."

To view the Virgin Media TV Awards results in full online visit virginmedia.

Notes to Editors:

Best TV Judge

1. Cheryl Cole (The X Factor USA) 16.52%

2. Simon Cowell (The X Factor USA) 16.08%

3. Bruno Tonioli (Strictly Come Dancing) 12.66%

4. Gary Barlow (The X Factor) 12.23%

5. Tulisa Contostavlos (The X Factor) 10.45%

6. Michael McIntyre (Britain's Got Talent) 10.19%

7. Nick Hewer (The Apprentice) 5.24%

8. Paul Hollywood (The Great British Bake Off) 5.06%

9. Greg Wallace (MasterChef) 4.69%

10. Kelly Rowland (The X Factor) 4.54%

Best Drama

11. Downton Abbey (ITV1) 45.44%

12. Ringer (Sky Living) 16.9%

13. Spooks (BBC One) 9.32%

14. Luther (BBC One) 7.81%

15. Mad Dogs (Sky1) 4.25%

16. The Hour (BBC Two) 4%

17. The Killing (BBC Four) 3.63%

Reality TV Star of the Year

1. Harry Judd (Strictly Come Dancing) 25.97%

2. Mark Wright (The Only Way Is Essex, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here) 14.21%

3. Russell Grant (Strictly Come Dancing) 12.77%

4. Jesy Nelson (Little Mix - The X Factor) 9%

5. Tara Reid (Celebrity Big Brother) 6.2%

Documentary of the Year

1. Frozen Planet (BBC One) 34.45%

2. Wonders of the Universe (BBC Two) 15.56%

3. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding (Channel 4) 11.61%

4. Living With The Amish (Channel 4) 7.89%

Channel of the Year

1. BBC One 55.31%

2. ITV1 10.51%

3. FX 8.29%

4. Channel 4 5.87%

5. Comedy Central 4.44%

Best Entertainment Show of the Year

1. Top Gear (BBC Two) 21.72%

2. The Graham Norton Show (BBC One) 20.55%

3. Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC Two) 15.67%

4. Harry Hill's TV Burp (ITV1) 9.98%

5. An Idiot Abroad (Sky 1) 8.69%

6. Take Me Out (ITV1) 5.2%

7. The Only Way Is Essex (ITV2) 4.69%

8. Dragon's Den (BBC Two) 3.99%

9. The Jonathan Ross Show (ITV1) 3.96%

10. Made In Chelsea (E4) 2.6%

For more information contact:

Press Office
e: [e-mail]