Young Adolescence Star Owen Cooper Wins Two RTS Awards at 16

Owen Cooper collected two awards at the 2026 Royal Television Society Programme Awards in London, winning the Breakthrough award and Best Supporting Actor – Male for his performance in the Netflix drama Adolescence, which also took home the prize for Best Limited Series. The 16-year-old did so in what is his first-ever on-screen role.

The four-part drama follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by Cooper, who is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl in his school. The programme is co-written by Stephen Graham, who stars as Jamie's father Eddie Miller, and examines so-called incel, or involuntary celibate, culture. It prompted a national conversation about online safety and received praise from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who hosted a Downing Street meeting with the programme-makers and called it "a torch that shines intensely brightly on a combination of issues that many people don't know how to respond to."

The RTS judges left little doubt about their verdict on Cooper's performance. "This was work that showed total conviction from a natural talent," they said. "A performance of phenomenal skill in a demanding, uncompromising role."

Cooper arrived at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane already carrying an extraordinary awards haul for someone his age. He had already collected an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the role before Tuesday night's ceremony. The BBC reported that Cooper became the youngest male actor to win an Emmy award for his portrayal of Jamie Miller, and he also won a Golden Globe for best supporting actor, closing his acceptance speech in Los Angeles with a "You'll Never Walk Alone" reference in tribute to Liverpool FC.

On Instagram, Cooper reflected on what the show has meant to him: "The day my life changed forever. I shared memories with my family that I'll remember forever. Accepted awards that I never thought I could possibly achieve. Met people that I've watched and adored since I was a little kid." He added: "I travelled the world with my family and loved every minute of it so thank you all so much."

His path to the role was far from inevitable. The BBC reported that Cooper was selected after years of weekly drama classes in Manchester, where teachers said their "eyes were just drawn to him."

Stephen Graham, who was also nominated for leading actor, won Best Writer – Drama alongside Jack Thorne. Graham lost the acting prize to Bobby Schofield, who won Leading Actor – Male for his portrayal of convicted sex offender Joe Mitchell in Jimmy McGovern's Unforgivable. Anna Friel also took home Supporting Actor – Female for Unforgivable. Narges Rashidi won the leading actor – female category for her role in Prisoner 951, a BBC factual drama telling the story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained by the Iranian state for nearly six years.

The BBC led the night with 16 wins, including victories for Celebrity Traitors in the entertainment and reality category, Things You Should Have Done for scripted comedy, Blue Lights for best drama, and EastEnders for soap and continuing drama. Sir Michael Palin was presented with the outstanding achievement award at the ceremony hosted by comedian Tom Allen at London's JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel. Tom Allen returned for the fifth year to host the prestigious ceremony.

RTS Programme Awards chairman Kenton Allen said: "Tonight's winners are a powerful reminder that British television remains one of this country's greatest creative and economic success stories — bold in ambition, world-class in craft, and fearless in the stories it chooses to tell. From breakout new talent to national treasures, these awards celebrate the extraordinary range of voices shaping modern television."

For Cooper, the RTS double caps an awards run that began with his very first screen credit. Adolescence had received the most nominations for a single show ahead of the RTS Programme Awards 2026, and the programme delivered on that promise, converting its nominations into three wins across acting and limited series categories. With a Warner Bros. adaptation of Wuthering Heights also on his horizon, the trajectory for Britain's youngest male Emmy winner shows no sign of levelling off.