BAFTAs 2025 key moments: Tennant, Take That, and Timothee Chalamet (and Kylie Jenner)
Tears, laughter and some Take That fangirling from a best actress nominee – this year’s BAFTA Film Awards had it all.
Conclave and The Brutalist were the night’s big winners, taking home four awards each – including best picture and outstanding British film for Conclave, and best actor for The Brutalist star Adrien Brody and directing award for its filmmaker, Brady Corbet.
But as always with these big entertainment awards ceremonies, there were plenty of moments to remember outside the big prizes.
Here are our BAFTA 2025 key talking points.
The return of Tennant
Hosts can make or break an awards ceremony, so when you get a good ‘un you want to keep them. After a successful stint in 2024, Doctor Who and Rivals star David Tennant was back to take the helm once again.
This time round, the Scottish actor, sporting a kilt and sporran at first, kicked things off by calling on the “BAFTA gods” – acting legends Dame Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and Brian Cox, naturally – before a sketch performance of The Proclaimers’ hit I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Of course, this needed some audience participation – including from US stars Camila Cabello, Colman Domingo and Anna Kendrick, who probably didn’t have a clue what was going on but joined in with gusto.
Tennant joked about actors “freshening up” while they age, after referencing that Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa took on his role in the BBC series, as well as the length of films such as The Brutalist (three-and-a-half hours).
“Who doesn’t like a chance to have a wee halfway through?” he asked, while talking about the film’s much-needed intermission.
Emilia Perez awards despite controversy – and Saldana’s speech
Zoe Saldana was named best supporting actress for her performance in Emilia Perez. Pic: PA
It went into awards season as one of the favourites, but Emilia Perez has been surrounded by controversy in recent weeks.
As stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez enjoyed the show, leading actress Karla Sofia Gascon was notably absent from the ceremony following the resurgence of offensive tweets, and the film has also come under fire for its portrayal of Mexico and of trans people.
Despite this, it picked up the BAFTAs for best film not in the English language and best supporting actress for Saldana.
Earlier this month, director Jacques Audiard said Gascon’s tweets were “inexcusable” and that he was “very sad” to see the issue “taking up all the space” around the film.
However, collecting the BAFTA for best film not in the English language, the French filmmaker namechecked all his stars, including Gascon – and blew her a kiss through his translator.
“I’m deeply proud of what we have all achieved together – long live Emilia Perez,” he said.
Read more:
The full list of winners
The BAFTA red carpet in pictures
In her speech, an emotional Saldana said the film defied categorisation and also paid tribute to her co-stars, before realising she was taking too long and being given a countdown. “F***, f***, f***”, she panicked, before continuing with her speech anyway.
Thanking her mother for “being such a selfless person”, she broke down in tears, and added: “Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds and I hope Emilia Perez did something like this, because voices need to be heard.”
Kylie Jenner sneaks in
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Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at the BAFTAs
We didn’t see her on the red carpet, but sneaky old Kylie Jenner, girlfriend of Timothee Chalamet, was most definitely in attendance to show her support.
The Kardashians star was in the audience next to Chalamet, who was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
During a break from awards announcements, Tennant spent time joking with some of the A-listers in the crowd, and the couple didn’t escape from his mic (or the cameras), despite their efforts to keep their appearance lowkey.
Referencing the Chalamet lookalike competition that made headlines in New York last year, Tennant joked about what a good likeness the “second place” doppelganger before him was – and how nice it was to have a Jenner lookalike, too.
Take That perform – and Saoirse Ronan fangirls
Take That performed Greatest Day, from Anora. Pic: BAFTA
If you’ve seen Anora, you’ll know the filmmakers behind it are fans of Take That, specifically the 2008 hit Greatest Day.
The band, now a trio of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, performed the hit remix used in the film on stage at the ceremony.
As host Tennant made his way through the crowd afterwards, he came across best actress nominee Saoirse Ronan and her husband Jack Lowden.
Is Ronan a Take That fan? “I’ve seen you twice,” she shouted at the boys as they made their way off stage.
That’s a yes, then.
Kieran Culkin couldn’t attend – so Jesse Eisenberg stepped up
Jesse Eisenberg won the BAFTA for best original screenplay for A Real Pain, and picked up best supporting actor for co-star Kieran Culkin. Pic: PA
Following best supporting actor wins at earlier ceremonies including the Golden Globes, Kieran Culkin has been a favourite when it comes to speeches this awards season.
It was no surprise to see him honoured at the BAFTAs, but as he sadly couldn’t attend the ceremony in person, his co-star and director Jesse Eisenberg stepped up – not only collecting the award on his behalf but also delivering the laughs, too.
In A Real Pain, the pair play two very different cousins on a trip exploring their Jewish grandmother’s roots in Poland.
The BAFTA was “like the fifth” award Eisenberg has picked up for Culkin, he told the audience. “We have a similar life, but his is 20% better than mine,” he added.
Accepting the award for best original screenplay, Eisenberg also joked that his wife had not attended the ceremony as she did not think he would win.
Breakthrough star pays tribute to sex workers
Mikey Madison was named best actress for her performance in Anora. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
After gaining a lot of support throughout the awards ceremony, Demi Moore was a favourite for a prize for her performance in The Substance. However, Mikey Madison had also gained momentum in recent weeks thanks to her breakout role as a young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch in Anora.
This one is a particularly exciting win as Madison, 25, was also up for the rising star award for up-and-coming talent. Being nominated in a major category in the same year is quite a feat in itself – winning it even more so.
On stage, Madison thanked her mother for driving her “to so many auditions”, as well as her fellow castmates.
She also paid tribute to the sex worker community, after working with many women in the industry to perfect her performance.
“I want to take a second to recognise the sex worker community,” Madison said. “You deserve respect and decency, and I… (urge) others to do the same… I will always be a friend and an ally.”
Kneecap: ‘It’s a movement’
Kneecap do the BAFTA red carpet. Pic: PA
Irish-language film Kneecap, a semi-autobiographical story starring a trio of rappers of the same name from Belfast, picked up the award for outstanding debut for a British filmmaker.
Band member JJ O Dochartaigh always wears a balaclava featuring the Irish flag – but for the BAFTAs he went all out, matching his suit.
The award went to director and writer Rich Peppiatt, who collected the prize on stage.
“Within two weeks of moving to Belfast I met Kneecap and now I’m standing here,” he told the audience, saying his movie was “more than a film, it’s a movement – about how everyone should have their language respected, their culture respected, their homeland respected.
“This award is dedicated to everyone out there fighting that fight.”
British success and a new collab?
Camila Cabello meets Wallace and Gromit… and Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Here’s a look backstage at US singer-songwriter Camila Cabello and the Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl filmmakers Nick Park, left, and Merlin Crossingham.
The pair picked up the prize for best children’s and family film, becoming the first ever recipients of the award, which was presented by Cabello.
We’re hoping this could be the start of a new partnership.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl also took home the animated film trophy, with Park joking on stage: “I didn’t actually write a second speech.”
And there was more recognition for British technical creatives in other categories, too.
Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales picked up the award for best production design, for their incredible visual work on the blockbuster smash Wicked.
Paul Lambert was on the team awarded the BAFTA for best visual effects, for his work on the science fiction blockbuster Dune: Part Two – which also won best sound, with a winning team including British mixer and engineer Gareth John.
Warwick Davis’s emotional speech
Warwick Davis was given the BAFTA fellowship award. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
Honoured with the prestigious BAFTA fellowship award, Warwick Davis dedicated the prize to his late wife Samantha, who died in March last year.
Davis, who is known for fantasy film Willow and the Harry Potter movies, received the organisation’s highest honour for his performing and advocacy work.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me – and I’ve been in Star Wars,” he joked at the start of his speech, before getting emotional as he talked about his wife and referenced his children, Annabelle and Harrison, who were in the audience.
“Thank you to the support of our wonderful children, I’ve been able to keep engaging in life,” he said.
Davis was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare bone disorder that results in dwarfism.
Previous recipients of the fellowship include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, Ken Loach, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Lord Laurence Olivier and Dame Judi Dench.
Look out for David Jonsson
David Jonsson is this year’s rising star. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
British actor David Jonsson was named this year’s BAFTA rising star – the only award voted for by the public.
The 31-year-old recently starred in the film Alien: Romulus and his credits also include TV series Industry as well as the 2023 romantic comedy Rye Lane.
“I’ve got to be honest, this isn’t why I do it,” he told the BAFTA audience in his speech. “Do you know what I mean? I’m just an east London boy.
“I didn’t really see a space for me in this industry. But this award is about people and as long as we can keep telling stories about people I think there’s got to be a space for me.”
Jonsson saw off competition from his fellow Industry and Back To Black star Marisa Abela, American actor Jharrel Jerome, Anora’s Madison and Informer star Nabhaan Rizwan.
Previous winners include Kristen Stewart, Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega and Tom Hardy, all before they became big names in the industry.
Sing Sing stars visas denied, filmmakers say
Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing. Pic: Dominic Leon
This wasn’t a moment from the ceremony, but on the red carpet ahead of the awards the filmmakers behind Sing Sing, which tells the true story of a group of men who take part in an arts rehabilitation project at a maximum security prison, spoke to Sky News on the red carpet.
While Colman Domingo, an established Hollywood star who was nominated for best actor, was able to attend the ceremony, the real-life person he portrayed in the film, Divine G Whitfield, was not – and neither was his co-star Clarence Maclin.
Maclin is a former inmate who played himself in the film, after being rehabilitated through the programme, and was nominated for best supporting actor.
Both were denied denied entry to the UK earlier this week due to their previous convictions, filmmakers Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley said.
“Their visas were denied to enter the country because they have served prison time, which goes against the grain of everything this movie stands for,” Kwedar told us. “It shows that people have the capacity to grow and to come back into their communities when they leave prison.
“These two particular men have such courage, vulnerability, integrity – and they’re not here tonight and they should be. The story is about them, it was built with them.”
A woman who is under police investigation after assisting the suicide of her husband at Dignitas in Switzerland has told Sky News she has no regrets.
Louise Shackleton has spoken publicly for the first time since her husband’s death in December, as parliament prepares to vote again on legislation to introduce assisted dying in England and Wales.
Mrs Shackleton surrendered herself to police after returning from Switzerland having seen her husband Anthony die. He had been suffering with motor neurone disease for six years.
“I have committed a crime, which I have admitted to, of assisting him by simply pushing him on to a plane and being with him, which I don’t regret for one moment. He was my husband and I loved him,” she said.
“We talked at length over two years about this. What he said to me on many occasions is ‘look at my options, look at what my options are. I can either go there and I can die peacefully, with grace, without pain, without suffering or I could be laid in a bed not being able to move, not even being able to look at anything unless you move my head’.
“He didn’t have options. What he wanted was nothing more than a good death.”
The law in the UK prohibits people from assisting in the suicide of others, but prosecutions have been rare.
Louise Shackleton has spoken publicly for the first time since her husband Anthony’s death
In a statement, a North Yorkshire Police spokesman told Sky News: “The investigation is ongoing. There is nothing further to add at this stage.”
The next vote on the assisted dying bill for England and Wales has been delayed by three weeks to give MPs time to consider amendments.
The legislation would permit a person who is terminally ill with less than six months to live to legally end their life after approval by two doctors and an expert panel.
‘He was at total peace with his decision’
Mrs Shackleton says she saw her husband “physically and mentally” relax once on the flight to Switzerland.
She said: “We had the most wonderful four days.
“He was laughing. He was at total peace with his decision.
“It was in those four days that I realised that he wanted the peaceful death more than he wanted to suffer and stay with me, which was hard, but that’s how resolute he was in having this peace.
“I was his wife, we’d been together 25 years, we’d known each other since we were 18. I couldn’t do anything else but help him.”
‘We need to safeguard people’
She said the hardest part of the journey came after her husband’s death.
“There was this panic and this fear that I was leaving him,” she said. “That was a horrific experience.
“If the law had changed in this country, I would have been with family, family would have been with us, family would’ve been with him. But as it was, that couldn’t happen.”
Opponents to the assisted dying bill have raised concerns about the safety of vulnerable people and the risk of coercion and a change in attitudes toward the elderly, seriously ill and disabled.
They say improvements to palliative care should be a priority.
“I think that we need to safeguard people,” said Mrs Shackleton. “I think that sometimes we need to suffer other people’s choices, and when I mean suffer I mean we have to acknowledge that whilst we’re not comfortable with those, that we need to respect other people, other people wishes.”
Read more:
Assisted dying: What is in the legislation?
Debate over assisted dying delayed
Anthony, who died aged 59, was a furniture restorer who had earned worldwide recognition for making rocking horses.
“I think the measure of the man is that nobody has ever said a bad word about him in the whole of his life because he was just so caring and giving,” his widow said.
‘This is about a dying person’s choice’
She said she had chosen to speak publicly because of a promise she had made him.
“I felt that my husband’s journey shouldn’t be in vain. We discussed this on our last day and my husband made me promise to tell his story.
“He told me to fight and the simple thing that I’m fighting for is people to have the choice.
“This is about a dying person’s choice to either follow their journey through with disease or to die peacefully when they want to, on their terms, and have a good death. It’s that simple.”
UK
Feminists ‘feel braver about speaking out’ after gender ruling – but critics say it ‘stokes culture war’
A former Labour MP who quit the party over Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership has welcomed the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman as a “victory for feminists”.
Rosie Duffield, now the independent MP for Canterbury, said the judgment helped resolve the “lack of clarity” that has existed in the politics around the issue “for years”.
She was speaking to Ali Fortescue on the Politics Hub on the same day the UK’s highest court delivered its verdict on one of the most contentious debates in politics.
Politics latest: MPs respond to Supreme Court ruling on gender
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How do you define a woman in law?
The judges were asked to rule on how “sex” is defined in the 2010 Equality Act – whether that means biological sex or “certificated” sex, as legally defined by the 2004 Gender Recognition Act.
Their unanimous decision was that the definition of a “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to “a biological woman and biological sex”.
Asked what she made about comments by fellow independent MP John McDonnell – who said the court “failed to hear the voice of a single trans person” and that the decision “lacked humanity and fairness” as a result, she said: “This ruling doesn’t affect trans people in the slightest.
“It’s about women’s rights – women’s rights to single sex spaces, women’s rights, not to be discriminated against.
“It literally doesn’t change a single thing for trans rights and that lack of understanding from a senior politician about the law is a bit worrying, actually.”
However, Maggie Chapman, a Scottish Green MSP, disagreed with Ms Duffield and said she was “concerned” about the impact the ruling would have on trans people “and for the services and facilities they have been using and have had access to for decades now”.
Susan Smith and Marion Calder, directors of For Women Scotland celebrate after the ruling. Pic: Reuters
“One of the grave concerns that we have with this ruling is that it will embolden people to challenge trans people who have every right to access services,” she said.
“We know that over the last few years… their [trans people’s] lives have become increasingly difficult, they have been blocked from accessing services they need.”
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‘Today’s ruling only stokes the culture war further’
Delivering the ruling at the London court on Wednesday, Lord Hodge said: “But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another. It is not.
Campaigners celebrate outside the Supreme Court. Pic: PA
“The Equality Act 2010 gives transgender people protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender.
“This is the application of the principle of discrimination by association. Those statutory protections are available to transgender people, whether or not they possess a gender recognition certificate.”
Read more:
Supreme Court decision has immediate real-world consequences
Prisons across England and Wales now 98.9% full
Asked whether she believed the judgment could “draw a line” under the culture war, Ms Chapman told Fortescue: “Today’s judgment only stokes that culture war further.”
And she said that while Lord Hodge was correct to say there were protections in law for trans people in the 2020 Equality Act, the judgment “doesn’t prevent things happening”.
“It may offer protections once bad things have happened, once harassment, once discrimination, once bigotry, once assaults have happened,” she said.
She also warned some groups “aren’t going to be satisfied with today’s ruling”.
“We know that there are individuals and there are groups who actually want to roll back even further – they want to get rid of the Gender Recognition Act from 2004,” she said.
“I think today’s ruling just emboldens those views.”
Arsenal have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League after a dramatic victory over holders Real Madrid in Spain.
The north London side, who became the first English team to win twice at the Bernabeu following their triumph there 19 years ago, will face Paris Saint-Germain in the last four after the French side beat Aston Villa on Tuesday.
It is the third time the Gunners have made it through to the semis of the top club football tournament in Europe, and the first since 2009.
Arsenal went into the second leg of their quarter-final clash on Wednesday with a 3-0 lead.
Backed by a raucous home crowd, Madrid tried to get off to a strong start and Kylian Mbappe scored after two minutes. However, the goal was disallowed for a clear offside.
Arsenal had the chance to go ahead in the 13th minute but winger Bukayo Saka missed a penalty.
The Spanish hosts were awarded a penalty of their own about 10 minutes later when Mbappe stumbled under pressure from Declan Rice in the box – but the decision was overturned by VAR.
Saka atoned for his tepid penalty as he chipped the ball past Madrid’s keeper Thibaut Courtois when put through on goal by auxiliary striker Mikel Merino in the 65th minute.
But Arsenal were pegged back just two minutes later as Vinicius Junior caught William Saliba dawdling on the ball and fired Real Madrid level.
Arsenal’s resolute defending kept the home side at bay until Gabriel Martinelli made a late break through the home side’s defence to put his side 2-1 ahead three minutes into injury time, as the Gunners made it 5-1 on aggregate.
(L-R) Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Mikel Merino celebrate after the defeat against Real Madrid. Pic: AP
‘We knew we were going to win’, says Rice
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has insisted his team are intent on winning the Champions League after their victory in Madrid.
Speaking to TNT Sport, Rice, who was named player of the match, said: “It’s such a special night, a historic one for the club. We have the objective of playing the best and winning the competition.
“We had so much belief and confidence from that first leg and came here to win the game. We knew we were going to suffer but we knew we were going to win. We had it in our minds, then we did it [in] real life. What a night.
“I knew when I signed, this club was on an upward trajectory. It’s been tough in the Premier League but in this competition we’ve done amazingly well.
“It’s PSG next, who are an amazing team.”
‘We have to be very proud of ourselves’, says Arteta
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told TNT Sport: “One of the best nights in my football career.
“We played against a team with the biggest history.
“To be able to win the tie in the manner we have done, I think we have to be very proud of ourselves.”
He added: “The history we have in this competition is so short. The third time in our history of what we have just done and we have to build on that. All this experience is going to help us, for sure.”
Real Madrid were seeking their third Champions League title in four seasons.
Mbappe twisted ankle
Their forward Mbappe twisted his right ankle during the game and was jeered by part of the crowd when his substitution was announced after a lacklustre performance.
The French star, who is still looking for his first Champions League title, was replaced by Brahim Diaz in the 75th minute following his injury. He was able to walk off the pitch by himself, but was limping slightly.
The other semi-final will be between Barcelona and Inter Milan.
The first legs are set to be played on 29 and 30 April, with the second legs on 6 and 7 May.
The final will be on 31 May.
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