British Television Celebrates Winners at BAFTA Awards

The Royal Festival Hall was the venue for the UK television industry’s most important night, where stars gathered to celebrate the best of British TV. Kate Winslet, the Oscar-winning actress, won the award for Best Leading Actress while Ben Whishaw won Best Leading Actor for his role as a doctor in This Is Going to Hurt. The awards ceremony had some surprises in store for the audience, with Casualty winning the award for Best Soap and Continuing Drama, beating EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Coronation Street, which had won last year. Lenny Rush, a 14-year-old child actor from Daisy May Cooper’s dark comedy Am I Being Unreasonable?, won the award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme, beating Daniel Radcliffe, Jon Pointing, and Matt Berry. The Masked Singer won Best Entertainment Programme, beating Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Strictly Come Dancing.

Touching Moments and Poignant Speeches

The BAFTA Awards ceremony had several touching moments and poignant speeches. Sir Mo Farah dedicated his award to the children who were being trafficked, saying that his story showed that they were not alone. The musical drama Mood, which tells the story of a budding singer trying to make it in the industry, won the award for Best Mini-Series. Nicole Lecky, the show’s creator and writer, thanked the women who had entrusted her with their stories and dedicated her award to her mother who had passed away when she was 19. Siobhan McSweeney won the award for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her role as headteacher Sister Michael in Derry Girls. In her humorous speech, she thanked the people of Derry for taking her into their hearts and their living rooms and criticized leaders in Dublin, Stormont, and Westminster, saying that “it’s time they started to wise up”. Kate Winslet won the award for Best Actress for her performance in Channel 4’s drama I Am Ruth, which deals with the pressures of social media. In an emotional speech, Winslet said that “small British television dramas can be mighty” and mental health stories such as this one “need to be heard”.