"I THANK the Lord for all he has done for me. And I'm pleased that the Queen is still going strong." I'm sure that most of us would agree that it would be hard to express a more admirable personal testimony - but might be surprised to learn that it was uttered as the climactic acceptance speech in this year's British Academy Television Awards (BBC1, Sunday).

It was uttered not by an actor, director, or producer, but by the subject of the winner of the single-drama category: Marvellous. I raved about it at the time, this extraordinary presentation of the life of Neil Baldwin, who, despite learning difficulties, has become Stoke-on-Trent's local hero. It is a moving celebration of simple goodness; and for once acknowledges that such virtues are consonant with committed membership of the Church of England.

The BAFTAs give a fascinating snapshot of the state of British TV as seen by its practitioners, who are the electorate that votes on the nominees; and were curiously encouraging. Among the winners were two other dramas based on episodes of contemporary life in Britain: Murdered By My Boyfriend, the story of one example of violence against women, and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, which reconstructed the media character-assassination of a suspect wrongly accused of the murder of Joanna Yeates.

These are all serious works that hold up a mirror to our national life. They are works that imply the need for change if we are to make any claim to be a decent society. It is surely significant not only that such pieces are broadcast, but that the industry recognises that these are the best things that it does. And that they are also superbly written, acted, and directed - and compelling. Like the most serious of sermons, the grittiest of TV programmes needs, in some sense, to entertain if viewers are expected to keep watching.

In Monday's Coronation Street (ITV), the gay priest, Billy, told his boyfriend, Sean, about his interview with the Bishop, after their relationship had been outed in the local newspaper. Once again, a soap opera is pushing a liberal moral agenda somewhat in advance of general opinion; but here I think they have got it right in presenting the general public (i.e., the rest of the cast) as being unconcerned about their priest's sexuality, appalled only by the Bishop's demand that celibacy is the price Billy must pay to keep his living. The sentiments were admirable, but the exchange was underwritten and displayed an unrealistic level of naïvety all round.

There was a more nuanced exploration of same-sex relationships in Sappho: Love and life on Lesbos, with Margaret Mountford (BBC4, Wednesday of last week). A newly discovered manuscript recorded unknown details of the great classical poet's family life.

This was a superb programme, peeling away layer after layer of misconception. Above all, it simply will not do to pigeonhole Sappho as a proselytising lesbian as we would understand the term: Mountford demonstrated that the love verses properly belong to public ritual, addressed to the village women who would sing and dance together at the local shrine. Once again, it's religion, stupid.