‘Pilgrimage,’ the TV series that brings together a group of celebrities and invites them to walk together to a religious site, has won a Special Award for its contribution to encouraging understanding between different faiths and outlooks.
The series, made by production company CTVC for the BBC and shown around the world, was awarded the prestigious honour by the Sandford St Martin Trust, a charity that advocates for and encourages excellence in the broadcast coverage of religion and beliefs.
Announcing the award this week in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace – the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury – Tony Stoller, chair of the Trust, said: “In our increasingly fragmented and fractious times, ‘Pilgrimage’ has consistently shown how, through thoughtful and respectful conversation, strangers from different faith perspectives and with very different world views can still find common ground and friendship.”
The series that has brought together Christians, Muslims and Jewish people, as well as followers of other faiths, atheists and agnostics, has so far broadcast eight series.
Those taking part have left behind their phones, picked up their sleeping bags and walked pilgrimages to sites including Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Istanbul, Portugal and North Wales. In a series that finished in Rome, the pilgrims had a private audience with the then Pope Francis.
Daisy Scalchi, BBC's Head of Religion and Ethics, said of the series, “What better way to embrace different perspectives and outlooks than walking with people who can open our hearts and minds to new ways of seeing the world. Pilgrimage is like no other show on TV.”
In the citation for the award, the Sandford St Martin Trust said, “’Pilgrimage’ offers something increasingly rare in a media age that thrives on clicks and controversy: space for genuine, reflective conversation.”
The presentation was made at the culmination of an awards ceremony that honoured programmes under four categories: journalism, TV/video, young audience and radio/audio.
Topics covered by the short-listed entries included faith on the Ukraine-Russia frontline, the rise of Christian nationalism, how Ramadan is celebrated and the debate around assisted suicide.
The winners ranged from a programme examining the Christian Brothers in Ireland, and how they handled their assets following a series of abuse claims, to the story behind a takeover of China’s state airwaves by followers of the Falun Gong movement.
An award given by Radio Times magazine through a public vote was made to a BBC TV programme about journalist and presenter Amol Rajan going to India. He undertakes a pilgrimage to the largest religious festival in history, the Kumbh Mela, where he seeks to discover if faith can help heal the pain of losing his father.
Speaking at the event, Krish Kandiah, a Christian social entrepreneur, author, and broadcaster, praised the awards and productions for showing how dialogue and understanding can grow, in contrast to the current divisive tone of much political and social debate taking place in the UK.
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK and a former communications director with the CofE.
