Michaela Coel scoops two BAFTAs for I May Destroy You as she alludes to abuse in industry
Michaela Coel picked up two gongs at the BAFTA TV Awards for her show I May Destroy You, and urged the industry to do more to keep people safe on set.
The BBC Three show, which is themed around consent and sexual assault, won best mini-series, with Coel herself picking up the leading actress award.
It comes just weeks after Coel offered her support to the 20 women that came forward and alleged that actor and producer Noel Clarke had harassed or abused them. Clarke vehemently denies the claims.
Stood at the podium collecting her leading actress trophy, Coel dedicated her award to intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien, thanking her for her work and “making the space safe… so we can make work about exploitation, loss of respect, abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process”.
She added: “I know what it’s like to shoot without an intimacy co-ordinator, the messy embarrassing feeling for the crew the internal devastation for the actor – your direction was essential to my show, and I believe essential for every production company that wants to make work exploring themes of consent.”
Elsewhere at the socially-distanced ceremony, which took place at Television Centre in west London, Diversity picked up the public-voted must-see moment for their Black Lives Matter inspired performance on Britain’s Got Talent, which drew tens of thousands of complaints to Ofcom.
Accepting the award, Ashley Banjo, the head of the group, said: “This is so much more than just an award.
“Thank you to everyone that stood by us… you guys made the difference to what was a really dark time.
Banjo added they received a “torrent of racially charged abuse” following the performance and said: “In a way, I have to thank the people that complained and put all that abuse out there online because you showed the truth.
“You showed exactly why this performance and this moment was necessary, and for all of those people – take a look… this is what change looks like.”
Jordan and Ashley Banjo represented BAFTA-winning Diversity
Sky News also picked up an award, winning the prize for news coverage, for its reporting of Inside Idlib, beating BBC News At Ten, Newsnight and Channel 4 News.
Head of Sky News, John Ryley, said: “Sky’s success at the BAFTAs reinforces yet again the importance of eye-witness, independent journalism and our flare for international news.”
Other winners at the ceremony, which was hosted by comedian and actor Richard Ayoade, included This Country’s Charlie Cooper, Malachi Kirby for Small Axe and Sky Arts’ Life And Rhyme – which pipped the likes of Saturday Night Takeaway and The Masked Singer to the entertainment award.
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Sky News wins BAFTA for Syria coverage
The BAFTAs usually take place in the grand surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall or the Royal Festival Hall, but with social distancing still in force, the show was moved to a TV studio, with just a handful of stars in the audience.
Ayoade, a veteran host of the awards, made a cheeky dig in his opening monologue, suggesting the academy could have waited another two weeks to allow a bigger event.
Special awards were put on hold this year, following the Clarke controversy, after it emerged that BAFTA gave the actor an outstanding contribution award despite being made aware of the allegations against him.
Taylor Swift has said she will vote for Kamala Harris in the US election, giving her endorsement just minutes after the debate with Donald Trump ended.
The Instagram post showed her holding her cat Benjamin Button – a reference to Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance‘s childless cat lady” comments.
Follow the latest on the Trump v Harris debate reaction here
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‘They’re eating pets in Springfield’
Swift urged her 283 million followers to “do your research,” but said AI-generated images of her supporting Mr Trump made her realise “I need to be very transparent about my actual plans”.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” she said. “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.
“I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate Tim Walz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
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US debate in three minutes
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‘Massive star’ endorsement could be ‘huge’
Sky News US correspondent James Matthews said after her post that Swift’s endorsement is “huge” for the Harris-Walz campaign.
“She is a massive star, huge,” he said. “She speaks to people in a way that politicians do not, and the message from Taylor Swift will resonate with a huge audience far beyond the kind of people watching what has gone on here.
“The timing will not have been an accident. Tonight, the headline is Taylor Swift. Tomorrow, all the talk is going to be about Kamala Harris and Taylor Swift and the momentum that will be behind her.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
It marks the first time Swift has spoken on the 2024 election. While the Style hitmaker did endorse Joe Biden in 2020, she did so only a month before election day.
However, despite her worldwide fame and popularity even Taylor Swift cannot escape the vicissitudes of American politics. The number of people following her on social media fell following her post.
Entertainment
US actor who voiced Master Splinter in original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series dies
US voice actor Peter Renaday, best known for his role as Master Splinter in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, has died aged 89.
His former Ninja Turtles castmate Townsend Coleman, who voiced Michelangelo in the show, confirmed the news in a post on the X social media platform on Tuesday.
Renaday voiced Master Splinter, a wise and stoic mutant rat who was the turtles’ adoptive half-father and martial arts teacher, between 1987 and 1996.
Police carried out a welfare check at the voice actor’s home in Burbank, California, on Sunday and found him dead inside, according to TMZ.
His niece Mindy Zachary told the celebrity news site that his air conditioning had been out and his home had been hot due to a recent heatwave in California.
She added that his cause of death has not been confirmed but the family feels it does not need further investigation.
Coleman, 70, said he was “devastated” by the the death of our “dear sensei” – a term the ninja turtles would sometimes use to refer to Master Splinter.
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Master Splinter in the original series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Pic: LMX Flix
He continued: “Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly. I had the privilege of visiting with him a month ago and he was as vibrant as ever, at 89 just as endearingly silly, smart and talented as I’ve always known him to be.
“Ugh, this is hard… a Disney legend and our dear Master Splinter – rest well, my sweet friend.”
Renaday also voiced Abraham Lincoln in The Hall Of Presidents – a major attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida.
He also had minor roles in a 1992 animated series of Batman and the Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries between 1995 and 1999.
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