BAFTA TV Awards: The Crown leads nominations for 2024 – with Happy Valley, Top Boy, The Last Of Us and Succession among big nominees
The final series of royal drama The Crown leads this year’s BAFTA TV Awards nominations, picking up eight nods including four in the acting categories – but misses out on the best drama shortlist.
Happy Valley, The Gold, Slow Horses and Top Boy are the four shows up for the prize, which will be one of the biggest of the night.
Black Mirror’s Demon 79 episode follows closely behind The Crown with seven BAFTA TV nominations, while The Sixth Commandment, The Last Of Us, The Long Shadow and Succession also feature several times on the shortlist.
Black Mirror Demon 79. Pic: Netflix
In the news coverage category, Sky News takes two of the three slots, for its coverage on Myanmar and the Israel-Hamas war. Channel 4 is also nominated for its coverage of the war.
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Inside Myanmar’s secret jungle hospital
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Inside Sky’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay’s month-long undercover mission embedded at the epicentre of Myanmar’s secretive resistance movement. WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
After six seasons chronicling the Royal Family, the final season of The Crown covered the period from the late 1990s to 2005 – including the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana, William meeting Kate, and Charles and Camilla’s wedding.
Dominic West, who played the then Prince Charles, is up for best actor, while Elizabeth Debicki (Princess Diana), Lesley Manville (Princess Margaret) and Salim Daw (Mohamed Al Fayed) are shortlisted in the supporting categories. The series is also up for awards for costume design, make-up and hair, sound, and visual effects.
The return of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian anthology series Black Mirror receives all its BAFTA TV nominations for one episode, titled Demon 79, about a girl who accidentally releases a demon who tells her she must commit three murders to prevent the end of the world.
Star Anjana Vasan is in the running for leading actress alongside Bella Ramsey for The Last Of Us, Anne Reid for The Sixth Commandment, Helena Bonham Carter for Nolly, Sarah Lancashire for Happy Valley, and Sharon Horgan for Best Interests.
Sarah Lancashire is up for best actress for her performance in Happy Valley. Pic: BBC
Brian Cox (right) is up for best actor for his portrayal of Logan Roy in Succession. Pic: Sky UK/HBO
In the leading actor category, West faces competition from Succession’s Brian Cox, Top Boy’s Kane “Kano” Robinson, Paapa Essiedu for The Lazarus Project, Steve Coogan for The Reckoning, and Timothy Spall for The Sixth Commandment.
In the comedy categories, Big Boys, Dreaming Whilst Black, Extraordinary and Such Brave Girls are up for best-scripted show, while Bridget Christie (The Change), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Black Ops), Mairead Tyers and Sofia Oxenham (Extraordinary), Roisin Gallagher (The Lovers), and Taj Atwal (Hullraisers) are shortlisted for best female performance.
Adjani Salmon (Dreaming Whilst Black), David Tennant (Good Omens), Hammed Animashaun (Black Ops), Jamie Demetriou (A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou), Joseph Gilgun (Brassic), and Mawaan Rizwan (Juice) are shortlisted for best male comedy performance.
The Bear, Beef, Class Act, The Last Of Us, Love & Death, and Succession make up the shortlist in the international category, while The Long Shadow, Demon 79, Best Interests and The Sixth Commandment are the four shows up for best limited series.
The main nominations announcement comes after the reveal of the memorable moments shortlist, which was announced earlier this month.
A total of 118 programmes have been nominated, and for 17 out of 44 nominees in the performance categories it is their first BAFTA nod.
BAFTA chair Sara Putt said the “exceptional” variety and quality of programmes nominated reflects the “creative powerhouse” that is the UK television industry.
She also referenced the directing categories for factual and fiction shows, which feature predominantly male nominees.
“I’m delighted to see so many first-time nominees, so much new and emerging talent and so many debut projects recognised,” she said.
“At a time when budgets are tight and creative risk-taking can feel ever riskier, we hope our awards can play a positive role in reinforcing the value of nurturing new talent and ideas, as well as holding a mirror up to stubborn industry inequities, particularly for talented female directors who are still significantly outnumbered by their male counterparts when it comes to awards submissions.”
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Entertainment
BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind
Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.
The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.
But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.
“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.
“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”
Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA
It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.
Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.
“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.
“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”
Read more: See full list of winners
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.
“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.
Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony
From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.
“I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”
By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory
But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.
Blondie drummer Clem Burke has died at the age of 70
The band said Blurke had been diagnosed with cancer, and described his death as a “profound loss”.
He featured on all the Debbie Harry-fronted group’s studio albums since joining a year after their formation in 1975.
Blurke was with the band from their self-titled debut, through their 1978 classic Parallel Lines, to 2017’s Pollinator.
Drummer Burke.
Pic: Reuters
In a statement on Blondie’s Instagram, Harry and the band’s guitarist, Chris Stein, said: “It is with profound sadness that we relay news of the passing of our beloved friend and bandmate Clem Burke following a private battle with cancer.
“Clem was not just a drummer, he was the heartbeat of Blondie.
“His talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable.
“Beyond his musicianship, Clem was a source of inspiration both on and off the stage. His vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
“Clem’s influence extended far beyond Blondie, a self-proclaimed ‘rock and roll survivalist’, he played and collaborated with numerous iconic artists.”
Burke in his performance at Festival Estereo Picnic 2023.
Pic: AP
Burke featured on Iggy Pop’s 1982 album Zombie Birdhouse and also performed with Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and Joan Jett.
The statement went on to say Burke had left an “indelible mark on every project he was part of”.
It added: “We extend our deepest condolences to Clem’s family, friends, and fans around the world. His legacy will live on through the tremendous amount of music he created and the countless lives he touched.”
Burke, who performed on classic tracks such as Call Me, Heart Of Glass and One Way Or Another, made his final live appearance with Blondie last year.
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Blondie performing during Glastonbury Festival in 2023.
Pic: Invision/AP
Among those paying tribute to him was Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, who said: “I feel saddened that Clem Burke was taken from us so soon.
“May he rest in peace, spectacular drumming, we were friends.”
Nancy Sinatra said: “My heart is shattered. Clem became an icon as a member of Blondie, but he was also an important part of my band, the K.A.B. I was blessed to call him my friend.
“If I ever needed him, he was there. Always. Sending healing prayers and comfort to his widow, Ellen, his family, and all who loved him.”
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