Sue Perkins, Ruby Rose and more nominated for the inaugural awards.
Sue Perkins may be leaving Bake Off when it moves to Channel 4 next year, but that hasn’t stopped her from being nominated for the Broadcaster of the Year gong ahead of the prestigious 2017 DIVA Awards, sponsored by Heathrow.
The nominations for next year’s awards have seen worldwide stars including Mel B, Kylie Minogue, Ellen DeGeneres and Kristen Stewart all acknowledged for their support and contribution to the LGBT community.
DIVA readers also giving a nod to the X Factor’s 2016 runner-up Saara Aalto, who has been nominated for the Musician of the Year award. But she’ll be going up against both Mel B and Jess Glynne, so it will be interesting to see who the public vote for when the awards are unveiled at the fantastic ceremony on 23 March next year at Café de Paris.
The inaugural DIVA Awards are the brainchild of magazine owner and co-publisher Linda Riley.
Speaking at the launch of nominations she said: “These awards are all about recognising fantastic lesbian and bisexual role models as well as those all important straight allies who work hard to champion equality and diversity.
“This is a very strong shortlist and there are some incredibly big international names nominated for awards which mean the DIVA Awards will be one of Britain’s biggest and most exciting events in 2017.”
Want to join the party? You can get tickets for the awards here.
The full list of nominations for the various awards are as follows:
LGBT Activist/Campaigner of the Year
Elly Barnes – Founder of schools’ charity Educate & Celebrate.
Vicky Beeching – Theologian, broadcaster and LGBT campaigner.
Alison Camps – Co-Chair of Pride In London.
Juno Roche – Trans rights activist and patron of CliniQ.
Rebecca Root – Trans awareness campaigner and actress.
Chardine Taylor-Stone – Cultural producer, writer and feminist activist.
Brand of the Year
Absolut – Premium vodka brand
Facebook – Social media and social networking site
Microsoft – Multi-national technology company
MTV – General entertainment channel
Netflix – Multi-national entertainment company
Virgin Group – Multi-national conglomerate
Politician of the Year
Kezia Dugdale MSP – Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
Mhairi Black MP – Scottish politician, youngest MP
Ruth Davidson MSP – Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party
Justine Greening MP – Secretary of State for Education since 2016
Margot James MP – British Conservative Politician and entrepreneur
Sports Personality of the Year
Nicola Adams MBE – Double Olympic boxing gold medallist
Claire Harvey – Paralympic athlete at London 2012
Helen Richardson-Walsh – Gold medallist, Rio 2016 – Team GB Hockey
Kate Richardson-Walsh MBE – Gold medallist, Rio 2016 – Team GB Hockey
Lianne Sanderson – Professional England international footballer
Casey Stoney MBE – Arsenal Ladies footballer with 118 caps for England
Rising Star of the Year
Munroe Bergdorf – Model, DJ, trans activist and feminist
Victoria Broom – Actress and award-winning LGBT producer
Sarah Keyworth – Surreal, deadpan, award-winning comedian
Gem Andrews – Northern based singer, songwriter and musician
Shura – Released debut album in July 2016
Wegan – YouTubers who campaign for femme visibility
Ally of the Year
Michelle Collins – TV presenter and actress
Kylie Minogue OBE – Award-winning singer and actress
Rachel Shelley – Radio Host and The L Word actress
Gok Wan – Fashion consultant and television presenter
Denise Welch – Actress, starred in BBC2’s Boy Meets Girl
Sinitta – Singer, television personality and actress
Broadcaster of the Year
Clare Balding OBE – Presenter, writer and broadcaster
Susan Calman – Comedian, presenter and writer
Jane Hill – BBC journalist and newsreader
Sue Perkins – Broadcaster, comedian and writer
Mary Portas – Retail consultant, broadcaster and author.
Sandi Toksvig OBE – Writer, presenter, producer and political activist
Musician of the Year
Saara Aalto – 2016 X Factor runner-up
Joan Armatrading MBE – British singer-songwriter and guitarist
Mel B – Singer, entrepreneur and former X Factor judge
Jess Glynne – Award-winning singer-songwriter
Horse McDonald – Scottish singer-songwriter
Lucy Spraggan – Singer, songwriter and musician
Author of the Year
Kiki Archer – Bestselling and award-winning lesbian author
Stella Duffy OBE – Novelist, playwright and theatre director
Jacquie Lawrence – Writer of web series Different For Girls
Val McDermid – Celebrated and best-selling crime writer
Lucy Sutcliffe – Author of memoir Girl Hearts Girl
Sarah Waters – Award-winning author of six lesbian novels
Inspirational Role Model of the Year
Cindy Edwards – Founder and MD of L Fest and L Fest Del Mar
Jacqui Gavin – Civil servant and trans rights activist
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah – Co-founder, UK Black Pride
Heather Peace – Actress, musician and LGBT rights activist
Daisy Reeves – Partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner
Sophie Ward – Actress and author
Entertainment Personality of the Year
Luisa Bradshaw-White – Bad Girls, Holby City and EastEnders actress
Cara Delevingne – Actress and model
Sam Fox – Pop singer, songwriter and actress
Katie Salmon – Reality TV star
Ruby Tandoh – Great British Bake Off contestant and food writer
Rose & Rosie – YouTubers, influencers and radio hosts
International Icon
Ellen Degeneres – Chat show host, awarded the US Medal of Freedom
Lauren Jaugregui – Member of girl group Fifth Harmony
Ruby Rose – Model, DJ, actress and television presenter
Kristen Stewart – Actress known for her role the Twilight Saga
Samira Wiley – Orange Is The New Black actress and model
Tegan & Sara – Canadian indie-pop singing duo
Lifetime Achievement
DIVA is inducting one special individual or company into the DIVA Hall of Fame in recognition of tireless work to improve the lives of LGBT people. There is no shortlist for this award – the winner will be announced during the ceremony.
Voting is now open at diva250awards.com.
