BAME Recruitment were thrilled to receive the ‘Highly Commended’ honour in the Consultancy of the Year category at the Inclusive Companies Awards held at the Hilton Hotel Deansgate, Manchester.  

A number of special guests made an appearance at the prestigious black-tie event including Hollyoaks’ star Annie Wallace; the first transgender person to play a regular transgender character in British soap history. Coronation Street Actor Liam Bairstow, the first learning disabled actor to be cast in a British soap, joined TV personality Leanne Brown at the ceremony. Paralympian Darren Harris also showed his support alongside Emmerdale cast members Ash Palmisciano, Liam Fox and Bhasker Patel. 

With a career as a disabled artist spanning 20 years, award-winning actor and writer Deborah Williams was the recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achiever Award. Now CEO of the Creative Diversity Network, Deborah is transforming UK broadcasting and leading on the initiative to double the percentage of disabled people working in the freelance supply chain by 2020. 

The evening ended with spectacular performances from Gospel Touch Choir and Soul singer-songwriter Dionne Bromfield. Gracing the airways of The One Show, Channel 4 and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away, Gospel Touch Choir impressed the audience with their rich harmonies before Dionne took centre stage to close the ceremony. First signed to Lioness at Island Records, a label created by her biggest fan and godmother, Amy Winehouse, Dionne has released two albums and supported the likes of Bruno Mars. 

The BAME Recruitment team had a wonderful evening and we were delighted to be recognised alongside some fantastic game changers and trail blazers leading the way in diversity and inclusion. We will continue to help organisations live the definitions of equality, diversity and inclusion through our services and look forward to seeing the incredible work being done at the Awards next year!  

Check out our highlights video from the ceremony below.