Lesley Manville heads eclectic jury line-up for Monte-Carlo Television Festival

Few actors can move between Mike Leigh dramas, period pieces, spy thrillers and Hollywood productions as effortlessly as Lesley Manville. This June, she will bring that breadth of experience to the Monte-Carlo Television Festival as chair of its Fiction Jury.

In recent years alone, audiences have seen Manville in The Crown, Citadel: Diana and The Agency, while her wider career stretches from long-standing collaborations with Mike Leigh to an Oscar nomination for Phantom Thread and scene-stealing turns in films such as Mrs Harris Goes to Paris.

She will help decide this year’s Golden Nymph winners alongside a panel that spans some very different corners of television. Among them is Greg Daniels, the creative force behind the American version of The Office, as well as Parks and Recreation, King of the Hill and Upload.

Also on the jury is Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney, who broke through as Elle Argent in Netflix’s hit coming-of-age series before joining another television institution in Doctor Who.

The line-up is completed by Grey’s Anatomy and Trainspotting actor Kevin McKidd, Bloodlands and Peaky Blinders performer Charlene McKenna, French actor Frédérique Bel and South Korean producer Hojin Kwon. Alongside Manville, Daniels and Finney, it makes for a jury that spans everything from Oscar-nominated drama and American sitcoms to some of the most talked-about series currently on television.

Over the course of the festival, the panel will watch and discuss this year’s fiction contenders before deciding which productions leave Monaco with a Golden Nymph.

Elsewhere, former YouTube Global Head of Original Content Susanne Daniels will chair the Digital Jury, while filmmaker Joshua Seftel heads the Feature Reports and News Jury.

The juries will be introduced during the festival’s opening ceremony on 12^th June, ahead of five days of screenings, premieres and events in Monaco.

As an official media partner of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, The Upcoming will be reporting from Monaco throughout the week, bringing readers interviews with attending talent, coverage from the red carpet and the latest news from the event.

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Image: Courtesy of Monte-Carlo Television Festival

The 65^th Monte-Carlo Television Festival takes place from 12^th to 16^th June 2026. For more information, visit the website here.

Read all our Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2026 coverage here.