MUMBAI: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the winners of this evening’s Arqiva British Academy Television Awards, celebrating and rewarding the very best programmes and performances of the past year. The ceremony was hosted by Graham Norton at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. The presenters included Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Davina McCall (The Jump), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Jeremy Piven (Mr. Selfridge), Marvin Humes (The X Factor), Martin Freeman (Sherlock), Mel & Sue (The Great British Bake-Off), Olympiad Mo Farah, Naomi Campbell (The Face), legendary television presenter Paul O’Grady, Ross Kemp (Eastenders), Sam Neill (Peaky Blinders) and Sheridan Smith (The Widower).
Crime drama Broadchurch was recognised in three categories: Olivia Colman won the BAFTA for Leading Actress for her performance as DS Ellie Miller, whilst co-star David Bradley received his first BAFTA for Supporting Actor. Colman’s win takes her career tally to three; she has now won a BAFTA in each of the performance categories. The programme also won a BAFTA in the highly competitive Drama Series category.
The IT Crowd was rewarded in both comedy performance categories, with Richard Ayoade and Katherine Parkinson winning their first BAFTAs for Male and Female Performance in a Comedy Programme respectively. The BAFTA for Situation Comedy went to Him & Her: The Wedding, the first of two awards won by BBC Three.
The BAFTA for Leading Actor went to first-time nominee Sean Harris for his performance as Stephen Morton in Southcliffe, the drama about a small town’s shootings. Sarah Lancashire, another first-time BAFTA winner, took home the award for Supporting Actress, her second nomination in as many years for her performance in BBC One’s popular drama, Last Tango in Halifax.
Ant and Dec, one of the nation’s most popular double-acts, fended off stiff competition from Charlie Brooker, Sarah Millican and ceremony host Graham Norton to take home the BAFTA in the Entertainment Performance category for Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, which also won the Entertainment Programme category. The award for Soap & Continuing Drama returned to Weatherfield as Coronation Street added a tenth BAFTA to its collection.
In its first year at the BAFTAs, Netflix took home the International award for Breaking Bad, the global television phenomenon that follows a terminally ill man on his journey from chemistry teacher to drug lord.
The award for Mini-Series went to BBC Three hit In The Flesh, written by BAFTA Breakthrough Brit and Television Craft Award-winner Dominic Mitchell. The BAFTA for Single Drama was won by domestic terrorism thriller Complicit.
Channel 4 fared well in factual: Bedlam won for Factual Series; The Murder Trial, which saw cameras placed inside a British court for the entirety of a trial, won for Single Documentary; and Syria: Across the Lines (Dispatches) received the BAFTA for Current Affairs, the tenth BAFTA (across Television and Television Craft) for a Dispatches film. Gogglebox, in its first series, was successful in the Reality & Constructed Factual category.
Bringing ITV’s tally to eight BAFTAs, Long Lost Family won in Features and ITV News at Ten: Woolwich Attacks in News Coverage.
Sky achieved success across a range of programming with its three nominations converting to wins in factual, sport and comedy: David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive 3D received the BAFTA for Specialist Factual; The Ashes 2013 – 1st Test, Day 5 took home the award for Sport & Live Event; and A League of Their Own won the BAFTA for Comedy and Comedy Entertainment Programme.
The Radio Times Audience Award, the only award voted for by the public, was won by Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor, beating Breaking Bad, Broadchurch, Educating Yorkshire, Gogglebox and The Great British Bake Off.
The Special Award was presented to Cilla Black, the entertainer, actress and singer, for her 50-year contribution to British television entertainment.
The Fellowship, the highest accolade the Academy bestows, was presented to actress Julie Walters (Harry Potter films) in recognition of an exceptional contribution to television over 30 years and her ground-breaking work across a range of genres, from serious drama to comedy.
Season 1 & 2 of the British crime-drama series Broadchurch airs every Wednesday at 9 pm. The series follows the disrupted lives of the residents of Broadchurch; a small, coastal town. The community faces harrowing police investigations and unwanted media attention when the corpse of an 11 year old boy, Danny Latimer is discovered. Discover the secrets of Broadchurch with the out-of-town detective Inspector Alec Hardy played by David Tennant and detective Sgt. Ellie Miller played by Olivia Colman.
Colors Infinity airs the first season of State of Affairs at 9 pm every Thursday. The show is an American espionage thriller series, starring Katherine Heigl as CIA analyst Charleston Tucker, who is tasked with assembling and presenting the President’s daily briefing on the most vital security issues facing the country, and Alfre Woodard as the first black woman to be elected President of the United States, Constance Payton.
On Wednesday, 16 December, Strictly Come Dancing’s season 11 will make its debut on the channel at 8 pm. The show sees celebrity-professional dancer duos take on each other in ballroom. The format of the show has been exported to over 40 countries, having inspired several other reality dance shows and spin offs.
The last one in the row is the first season of The Honorable Woman, a British political spy thriller, which revolves around the life of Nessa Stein played by Maggie Gyllenhaal an Anglo-Israeli businesswoman who finds herself amidst an international pandemonium when she inherits her family’s arms business. The series will premiere on 21 December at 9 pm.
