Monday 3 April, 2023

Doctor Who and Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa heads the annual ultimate TV power list compiled by industry experts and top TV executives.

Heartstopper writer Alice Oseman and news presenter Huw Edwards take second and third place, while three Heartsopper cast members feature in the top 20.

RadioTimes.com, the UK’s number one entertainment website, has revealed its annual RadioTimes.com TV 100 list, recognising the top 100 people in front of and behind the camera, responsible for landmark tv moments in 2022.

Ncuti Gatwa, who topped the list, is praised by TV 100 contributor, Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content, for his “incredible dynamism, he’s a striking and fearless actor whose talent and energy are boundless.”

The runaway success of Netflix series Heartstopper sees writer Alice Oseman take second place and rocketed three cast members into the top 20, with Yasmin Finney at number 9, and Kit Conner and Joe Locke at 14th and 15th respectively. News presenter Huw Edwards, is third on the TV 100 list, praised by industry experts for his “decorum” in breaking the news and leading the subsequent coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Jennifer Coolidge is in fourth place for her “captivating” performance in The White Lotus, and England’s Lionesses take eighth place, with their Euro 2022 final victory against Germany was one of the most-watched TV spectacles of the year.

Host of The Traitors and Strictly Claudia Winkleman is sixth on the list, and 2022’s Strictly winner Hamza Yassin takes 10th place. Critically acclaimed House of the Dragon breakout star Emma D’Arcy is in fifth place and former doctor turned writer Adam Kay, scoops seventh place.

Harry and Meghan are in 13th place following their 2022 headline-making six-part Netflix documentary becoming the streamer’s biggest ever factual debut, part of a five-year deal reportedly worth $100 million.

The annual list is compiled by leading figures from across the creative industries, including Charlotte Moore, BBC Director of Content; Zai Bennett, Sky UK and Ireland Managing Director of Content, Sky; and Anne Mensah, Netflix VP Content at Netflix, who nominations of the most exciting, influential names working in television today, was then curated into a final ist by RadioTimes.com’s team of expert editors and critics.

Ncuti Gatwa, who is currently filming the new series of Doctor Who, said: “Being recognised for anything is just bloody lovely innit? Let alone being on the RadioTimes.com TV 100 list! TV is on fire at the moment, and so to top the list as well feels extra cool. The Titans that have topped the list before me…people such as Russell T Davies, Michaela Coel, Jodie Whittaker, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Olivia Colman are all inspirations to me, and their work is something I aspire to. They’re just really great story tellers above all else and that’s all I could want to do.”

Last year’s TV 100 first place holder, Russell T Davies, responded to Ncuti Gatwa’s win saying: “Sometimes you know you’ve got a secret.  And you hold it close to your chest and let it burn, because secrets are so delicious. I’ve got that right now, because my secret is seeing Ncuti with Millie Gibson on the rushes of Doctor Who, every single day, and oh my God, this is so good!  I can promise you a completely new Doctor, and yet a Doctor utterly faithful to the 60 years that came before. Soon, the secret will be out, and we’ll all be dancing!” .

Morgan Jeffery, Executive Editor of RadioTimes.com says: “I’m immensely proud of 2023’s list, which celebrates the brilliant diversity and vitality of television in all its forms and is led by a thoroughly deserving winner who is one of the industry’s very best and brightest”.

Helen Daly, Associate Editor of RadioTimes.com, says: “Our worthy winner this year is Ncuti Gatwa, a popular choice among our panellists, and a talent who will no doubt have a stellar 2023 as he takes over the TARDIS in Doctor Who. Congratulations to everyone who made our list!”.

For the full TOP TV 100 list go to RadioTimes.com