A SHOPPING centre commercial has been recognised with an accolade in annual awards.

The MetroCentre's current advert, entitled Explore and Discover MetroCentre, was named best broadcast promotion, winning the Saville Trophy at the Royal Television Awards.

Now in their 17th year, the awards took place at Gateshead's Federation Brewery, and included 16 categories including best cameraman, best television journalist and best independent production.

The MetroCentre's commercial, which beat off competition from other adverts, sponsorship broadcasts and programme trailers, was made by Robson Brown and Kronfi Duliba Productions.

Karen Carr, the centre's marketing manager, said: "We were delighted to hear that MetroCentre had won this award. The thought behind the commercial was to educate customers that the retail scene continues to evolve and represents a vast range of retailers.

"Lots of hard work went into making this fun and modern commercial looking at the centre from a less obvious angle, and we were all delighted at the results."