Happy Valley, The Gold, Slow Horses and Top Boy are the four shows battling it out to be named best drama of the past year at the BAFTA TV Awards later today.
Stars including Brian Cox, Sarah Lancashire, Kane “Kano” Robinson, Dominic West, Sharon Horgan, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Ramsey and Steve Coogan are among the big names in the running for acting awards at the ceremony, which takes place at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank.
Comedians Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett take on hosting duties, with celebrities set to hit the red carpet this afternoon ahead of the main event.
Image: Brian Cox as Logan Roy in Succession. Pic: PA/Sky/HBO
Behind-the-scenes prizes for categories including costume, make-up and sound have already been presented at the BAFTACraft Awards, which took place at the end of April.
Last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, dark satire Black Mirror, Apple TV+ espionage thriller Slow Horses and dystopian drama Silo were among the major winners at that ceremony, taking home two prizes each.
Image: Black Mirror’s Demon 79 episode is up for several awards. Pic: Netflix
The Crown, which led the nominations ahead of both awards, with four main nods and four for craft, went home empty-handed, missing out on the prizes for costume, hair and make-up, sound and visual effects. Stars Dominic West (Prince Charles), Elizabeth Debicki (Princess Diana), Lesley Manville (Princess Margaret) and Salim Daw (Mohamed Al Fayed) are up for acting prizes at today’s event.
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.
Image: Dominic West as Prince Charles, with Rufus Kampa and Fflyn Edwards as William and Harry, in the sixth and final series of The Crown. Pic: Netflix
Big Boys, Dreaming Whilst Black, Extraordinary and Such Brave Girls are up for best-scripted comedy, while The Bear, Beef, Class Act, The Last Of Us, Love & Death and Succession are shortlisted for best international series.
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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, while 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.
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Six of last year’s biggest TV moments are also up for the memorable moment award, which is voted for by the public. These include the famous Rolls Royce scene from Netflix’s Beckham documentary, which saw footballer David tease his Spice Girl wife Victoria about her ‘working class’ upbringing, along with Doctor Who unveiling Ncuti Gatwa as the fifteenth timelord, and Catherine Cawood and Tommy Lee Royce’s dramatic kitchen showdown in the final series of Happy Valley.
Succession is also in the running for Logan Roy’s abrupt death, along with an emotional episode of The Last Of Us, for its emotional episode dedicated to Bill and Frank, and a scene in Channel 4’s The Piano which saw 13-year-old Lucy, who is blind and neurodivergent, stunning commuters in Leeds by playing a complex Chopin piece.
A total of 118 programmes have been shortlisted across the board, and for 17 out of 44 nominees in the performance categories it is their first BAFTA nod.
Sarah, Duchess of York, has been dropped as a patron of two charities after it emerged she sent an email apologising to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein for publicly disowning him.
The groups, children’s hospice Julia’s House and food allergy charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, issued statements on Monday.
Julia’s House said: “Following the information shared this weekend on the Duchess of York’s correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein, Julia’s House has taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue as a patron of the charity.
“We have advised the Duchess of York of this decision and thank her for her past support.”
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, founders of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: “We were disturbed to read of Sarah, Duchess of York’s, correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
“Sarah Ferguson has not been actively involved with the charity for some years. She was a patron but, in the light of the recent revelations, we have taken the decision that it would be inappropriate for her to continue to be associated with the charity. We would like to thank her for her kindness and support in the past.”
Julia’s House provides support for “families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition”, according to its website.
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation aims to prevent and end allergic disease, according to the Charity Commission, by bringing “about positive change by focusing on law and policies, medical research and educating and raising allergy awareness”.
It comes after it emergedthe duchess had written a gushing message to Epstein, describing him as her “supreme friend”.
According to The Sun on Sunday, the ex-wife of Prince Andrew had emailed him in April 2011 and “humbly apologised” for linking him to paedophilia in the media a few weeks previously.
She said in the message that he was a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend” to her.
Her spokesperson has since said she only wrote the note because Epstein had threatened to sue her.
The duchess’s interview with the Evening Standard on 7 March 2011 saw her apologise for accepting £15,000 from Epstein.
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‘Duchess fell for Epstein’s lies’
She told the newspaper: “I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite, I cannot say.
“Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”
But The Sun on Sunday reported that little over a month later, the duchess sent an email to the sex offender from her private account.
She apologised to him and said she was “bedridden with fear”, the paper reported.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP
‘Her first thoughts are with his victims’
In a statement at the weekend, the duchess’s spokesman said: “The duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims.
“Like many people, she was taken in by his lies.
“As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with paedophilia.
“She does not resile from anything she said then.
“This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.”
Police have appealed for help to identify an additional 18 people suspected of public order offences and assaults on emergency workers on the day of the Unite the Kingdom march.
Between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended the rally in central London on 13 September, the Metropolitan Police estimates.
Protesters heard a number of speeches, including from far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who organised the rally and called it the “biggest freedom of speech” event in British history.
Image: Pics: Met Police
An anti-racism counter-protest, attended by about 5,000 campaigners, also took place, with the two groups clashing on Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, separated by lines of police.
Police previously said 24 people were arrested at the protests, 23 of whom are believed to have been involved in the Unite the Kingdom rally, while one was believed to be involved in the counter-protest.
Officers now want to speak to a further 18 people “in connection with a range of public order offences and assaults on emergency workers” and have released 16 new images.
“Our post-event investigation continues and officers have looked through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage to review evidence to help with further inquiries,” said Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Norris.
“We have 28 people we want to speak to in connection with a range of offences – and we are again appealing for the public’s help to track them down.”
People may have travelled from outside London, so she said she was asking people “across the country” to look at a number of pictures that have been released and to get in touch if they recognise anyone.
The UK is set to push for a peace plan for the Middle East at the UN General Assembly after recognising the state of Palestine.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to use the summit to address civilian suffering in war-torn Gaza and aim to strengthen “the international consensus on our pathway for peace in the Middle East”.
She will hold bilateral meetings to advance elements of the peace plan, including security measures to ensure Hamas has no role in the future governance of Gaza, according to the Foreign Office.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who won’t attend the summit, announced on Sunday that the UK recognises Palestine as an independent state, to “revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution”.
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‘Ordinary people deserve to live in peace’
It is a significant moment in the history of Britain’s involvement in the region, and comes as the number of people killed during the Gaza conflict continues to rise and conditions for the people trapped become even more desperate.
Australia, Canada and Portugal made similar announcements, with France expected to follow suit at the UN on Monday.
The move was met with fierce backlash by Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying it was “absurd” and a “huge reward to terrorism”. He also vowed that a Palestinian state “will not happen”.
Image: Flags of Palestine and Israel are projected onto the Eiffel Tower. Pic: AP/Christophe Ena
Separately, an Israeli official said the “full or partial annexation of the West Bank” is now “an option under consideration in response” to the move.
US President Donald Trump also addressed the coordinated recognition of the state of Palestine by the UK, Australia, Canada and Portugal, saying “I’m not in that camp” because recognising a Palestinian state was “rewarding Hamas”.
The families of hostages held in Gaza called it a “betrayal of humanity and a move that rewards Hamas while 48 hostages remain in captivity”.
Image: A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches along the Muwasi, in southern Gaza. Pic: AP/Jehad Alshrafi
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the recognition of the state of Palestine would allow it to “live side by side with the State of Israel in security, peace, and good neighbourliness”.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi reportedly celebrated the move as a victory for “the justice of our cause”.
But Sir Keir was clear to emphasise that recognition of Palestine was “not a reward for Hamas”, saying the terror group “can have no future, no role in government, no role in security” in a future state and confirming plans to ratchet up sanctions on Hamas “in the coming weeks”.
“Our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of their hateful vision,” he added.
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Gazans react after Starmer recognises Palestinian statehood
The prime minister also repeated his criticism of Israel, which for nearly two years has waged war on the densely populated Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable,” he said.
Image: Destroyed buildings in Gaza, as seen from Israeli side of the border. Pic: Reuters
The number of people killed in Gaza since the IDF launched its offensive following the 7 October attacks has now risen above 65,000, according to Hamas-run health authorities.
“This death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end,” Sir Keir said.
Image: An updated map of Israel and Palestine on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website
In recognising Palestine as a state, the UK does so based on 1967 borders to be finalised as part of future negotiations. It would be led by a “reformed Palestinian Authority”.
The UK also acknowledges “all legal rights and obligations of statehood” for Palestine.
An updated map on the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website now has the West Bank and Gaza labelled as ‘Palestine’ rather than the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’. This change has been rolled out across the website.