The red carpet’s been rolled out, the champagne is on hand – it can only mean one thing… Yup, it’s the British Academy Television Awards, hosted by Sue Perkins. And RadioTimes.com are behind-the-scenes at London’s Festival Hall to report on everything that happens, from interviews on the red carpet to gossip from backstage to news of the night’s biggest winners, as they’re announced.

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The ceremony starts at 7pm – and BBC1 will broadcast highlights from 8pm – but for minute-by-minute coverage on the evening’s headlines stay tuned with our live blog. It’s the only place to be.

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22.15: Still, I'm sure this debate will continue on for a while.

But I wont be here to hear it! After a long night of theorising, cracking jokes and copy-pasting nominations, it's time for me to hang up my live blogging tricorn (yes, I'm wearing one - all live bloggers do - and it's the only representation Poldark was gonna get tonight) and bid you adieu.

Thanks for reading my half-formed thoughts and for supporting British TV, and hopefully I'll see you next year for even more Bafta fun. Just IMAGINE the exciting new TV shows we'll be arguing about by then.

More like this

Have a good one!


22.11: A lot of chatter online that Claire Foy wuz robbed.

I get that impulse - she was brilliant in the series - but c'mon, how good was Molly Windsor? And this award will mean a lot more to her than it would to already-famous international star Claire Foy.


22.02: Now I BELIEVE the Baftas have finished up on TV as well! We're all together once again. And in the end, isn;t that what TV production is all about?

Ron Howard voice: "It wasn't."


21.58: Already forgotten who picked up those funny face statues? Never fear - here's our full list of the winners from tonight's ceremony.

Bafta Film Awards 2019, Getty

21.53: These guys may not have won, but they still had fun!


21.52: So, what a night! The Bafta TV awards are always trickier to predict than the big film awards or even the TV awards shows over in America, but this was a particularly surprising ceremony.

The only winners that were really expected were Sean Bean, Vanessa Kirby and This Country, with the likes of Adrian Dunbar or Claire Foy - who many thought was a shoo-in given that this was her last series of the Crown - overlooked in favour of performances in real-life dramas.

No love for Netflix either, though BBC3 did very well - Murdered for Being Different and This Country both picked up awards.

The lesson? Don't try to predict these things, unless you're me and it's literally your job to do that.


21.47: Roving RadioTimes.com reporter Ellie Harrison also has the scoop on Peaky Blinders - apparently there's a movie on the horizon, but no Al Capone.


21.43: Oh, and here's the full story on that BBC technical issue at the start of the show.


21.42: Case in point - there's still plenty of This Country bantz backstage.


21.36: And that's the end of it! All the winners are gathering onstage for a big photo, or chatting to the press in the winner's conference. We'll still be here for a bit though, don't you worry.


21.34: Now that magician from earlier, who IS called Magical Bones, is doing a massive trick for the crowd.

Not to undermine his cool moment, but I actually bumped into him backstage about 10 minutes ago on my way to the loo, when he was seriously trying to psyche himself up. This is the insider gossip you came here for!


21.32: Bafta do sometimes like rewarding the newcomers - Georgina Campbell won this for Murdered by my Boyfriend a few years back - so this isn't as big a shock as you might think.

Windsor again praises the real Three Girls, and seems quite overwhelmed.


21.31: Sherlock's Martin Freeman is here to present. Ooh, this one is exciting. All great candidates!

The Bafta goes to...Molly Windsor! Hey, I was (sort of) right!

tv-100-molly-windsor

21.30: Now the last award of the night - Leading Actress.

Nominees are:

Claire Foy – The Crown

Molly Windsor – Three Girls

Sinead Keenan – Little Boy Blue

Thandie Newton – Line of Duty

Feel like Windsor could cinch this. But it's Foy's to lose, probably.


21.28: Sean says he wouldn't be here without the "great mind" of Jimmy McGovern, who "shines a light" on the darker aspects of our society.

"I'm really really honoured, and absolutely delighted - thank you very much."


21.27: Joely Richardson here to present.

And the Bafta goes to...

Sean Bean! (aka Seen Been and Shorn Born, as you recall).

Sean Bean, Game Of Thrones (Sky, EH)
Sean Bean, Game Of Thrones (Sky, EH)

(Sorry, this is the only picture I could find at short notice!)


21.25: Now we're up to a biggie - Best Actor! Nominees are:

Jack Rowan – Born to Kill

Joe Cole – Black Mirror: Hang the DJ

Sean Bean – Broken

Tim Piggot-Smith – King Charles III


21.24: "You don't get warzone reporting like that anymore," says Sue Perkins of Adie - "except when Olly Murs is trapped in Selfridge's."

SHAAAADE.


21.23: This supports my theory that they weren't given non-10 paddles. Wake up, sheeple! This goes all the way to the top.


21.21: Adie now takes to the stage, accompanied by thunderous applause.

Adie apologises for her broken arm, which wasn't sustained in a foxhole, but a pothole!

Working on local radio "I never imagined I would be a reporter. I was a humble station assistant." But then she got a gig doing the weather (by looking out of the window!) and she thanks the men who, in the early days, told her to "get out there and do it."

"So I did."


21.17: Next up we have the Bafta Fellowship, which is going to journalist Kate Adie. Now getting a nice VT of her work over the last few decades.


Sascha Williams and Stephanie Nock on Britain's Got Talent
Sascha Williams and Stephanie Nock on Britain's Got Talent (YouTube, FT)

21.12: Presenting the award are "both balding" according to Iain Stirling - Clare Balding and Sir Mo Farah.

And the winner is:

Britain's Got Talent! Wow, people were expecting Ant and Dec (well, Dec) to win this one.


21.11: Now we're up to Best Entertainment Programme. Nominees are:

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway

Britain’s Got Talent

Michael McIntyre’s Big Show

The Voice UK


21.07: Greg Davies, "comedy giant," is here to present the award. He describes himself as a "towering symbol of male privilege" and "a grotesque metaphor for everything that;s wrong with gender equality."

And it goes to...Daisy May Cooper!

She thanks just about everyone on the planet then, as an afterthought, adds "Oh yeah...Charlie as well."

This Country (BBC, EH)

21.06: Now, we're up to Female Performance in a Comedy Programme. Nominees are:

Anna Maxwell Martin – Motherland

Daisy May Cooper – This Country

Sharon Horgan – Catastrophe

Sian Gibson – Peter Kay’s Car Share

Hard to call this one, a lot of strong candidates.


21.03: "I'm normally quite used to picking up trophies - but I'm not used to talking after," Rio says.

He gives an emotional speech about his new vulnerable side, and says that most of the people who come up to him in the street don't want to talk about football now - they want to talk about grief.


21.02: And the winner is...Rio Ferdinand!


21.01: Now we're up to Best Single Documentary, presented by Bulletproof stars Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters.

Nominees are:

Chris Packham: Asperger’s and Me

Louis Theroux: Talking To Anorexia

One Deadly Weekend in America

Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad


20.59: Ha OK, we've just cut to the Commonwealth Games' gold medal-winning netball team - THESE are the random women we cut to a while earlier! Clearly, this was a prerecord they weren't meant to cut to back then.


20.59: Presented by Tom Davis and Michelle Keegan, the winner is:

Graham Norton! Who isn't here tonight, presumably because he's still sleeping off last night's Eurovision hangover...


20.57: Now, Best Entertainment performance. Nominees are:

Adam Hills – The Last Leg

Graham Norton – The Graham Norton Show

Michael McIntyre – Michael McIntyre’s Big Show

Sandi Toksvig – QI


WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 14:59:45 on 03/01/2012 - Programme Name: Casualty - Portraits - TX: n/a - Episode: Casualty - Portraits (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Charlie Fairhead (DEREK THOMPSON) - (C) BBC - Photographer: Phil Fisk BBC, TL

20.55: Ore Oduba and Claudia Winkleman present the award to Casualty. The winners crack jokes about the high mortality rate of patients AND staff.


20.54: Celebs in the crowd all held up their 10 panels. Did they REALLY have any twos under their chairs, though? I'm suspicious.

Next up, best soap and continuing drama. Nominees are:

Casualty

Coronation Street

Emmerdale

Hollyoaks


20.52: Basically these are all the winners - think Jill Halfpenny and Natasha Kaplinsky are in there somewhere. Ed Balls, presumably, feeling very left out.


20.50: Now after a bit of classic Mel and Sue bickering, we're getting that Strictly Moment (TM). Contestants from the last few years including Louis Smith, Joe McFadden, Ore Oduba, Abby Clancy, Jay MacGuinness, Caroline Flack and many more are strutting their stuff! To the version of One we heard rehearsed earlier.


20.48: Sir David Attenborough gets a huge cheer. The crowd know not to provoke his fiery rage.

D-Attz says "We set out to show the seas, the oceans for what they are - their beauty, their splendour, their intricacy - but also the truth about what we're doing to them."

The fact that this tragic, meaningful clip struck a chord means a lot, he says.


20.45: And the winner is...

Blue Planet 2! hey, they won something after all. Attenborough's wrath may be assuaged after all.

WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 00:00:01 on 02/12/2017 - Programme Name: Blue Planet II - TX: 10/12/2017 - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). Weighing over half a ton, it is largest turtle on the planet but globally, its numbers have fallen catastrophically. Sir David Attenborough travels to Trinidad to meet a remarkable community that are trying to save these iconic giants. Sir David Attenborough, Leatherback turtle - (C) Gavin Thurston - Photographer: Gavin Thurston

20.44: Lot of great nominees (I've watched every one of these, and any would be a decent winner). Presenting this one is Dermot O'Leary and Emma Willis.


20.42: Now's another exciting award - the Virgin TV Must-see Moment! Aka the one Doctor Who is in!

Here are the nominees, which was voted for by the public (hence a different coloured Bafta):

Blue Planet II: mother pilot whale grieves

Doctor Who: the Thirteenth Doctor revealed

Game of Thrones: Viserion is killed by the Night King

Line of Duty: Huntley’s narrow escape

Love Island: Stormzy makes a surprise appearance

One Love Manchester: Ariana Grande sings One Last Time


Programme Name: Detectorists series 3 - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Lance (TOBY JONES), Andy (MACKENZIE CROOK) - (C) Channel X - Photographer: Chris HarrisBBC, TL
BBC, TL Channel X/Chris Harris/BBC

20.41: Jones says he can't talk about this without mentioning co-star and series creator Mackenzie Crook, who can't be there tonight because... he's "training his robin" in the back garden. Ha!


20.40: Hayley Atwell's presenting this one (slightly dated Agent Carter ref from Stirling), and the Bafta goes to.... (drum roll)...

Toby Jones! Get me with my SOMETIMES ACCURATE predictions.


20.37: As Jane gives her thanks, let's look ahead. The next award will be Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme, and the nominees are:

Asim Chaudry – People Just Do Nothing

Rob Brydon – The Trip to Spain

Samson Kayo – Famalam (popular in the award room)

Toby Jones – Detectorists

Sort of feels like Toby Jones might get this, considering Detectorists isn't up for anything else. But who knows?


20.34: Now we're up to Best Features, presented by Fred Sirieux.

Nominees are:

Antiques Roadshow

Cruising with Jane McDonald

No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?

The Secret Life of the Zoo

The winner is Cruising With Jane MacDonald, which is well worth a win considering how much that title makes me laugh every time. Jane cackles with joy when collecting the award.


20.31: Gosh, this is sad - reminding me that poor Emma Chambers, John Noakes and Dale Winton passed away this year.

Sir Bruce Forsyth gets the headline slot, such that it is. Sue Perkins also leads a tribute to Dame Tessa Jowell, who died this morning.


20.29: Now we're going through the In Memoriam, which includes RT columnist Barry Norman and Sir Peter Hall, whose absence from the Oliviers' In Memoriam was widely criticised earlier in the year.

Other names include Rodney Bewes, Keith Chegwin and Peter Sallis so far.


20.26: John Motson giving a nice speech about his 50 years commentating. He has a special night of TV programming coming up soon, including a Motson-themed Mastermind! Now that's a tribute.


This Country (BBC, EH)
This Country (BBC, EH)

20.23: Daisy-May Cooper and Charlie Cooper thanked their cast, crew and the BBC commissioners who first brought them to the channel.

Sorry if I lost you for a moment there - had some technical difficulties!

Next up, a special award for football commentator John Motson.


20.19: Bafta goes to This Country! Hooray, that's nice.


20.16: Now we're here for Scripted Comedy. Good nominees this year!

Catastrophe

Chewing Gum

This Country

Time Wasters


20.14: Winners David Shulman and Janet Lee seem just as surprised as we are!


20.12: Catriona Balfe and Sam Heughan, of Outlander fame, are presenting this award for...reasons? Doesn;t exactly tie in with their show.

The Bafta goes to Basquiat: Rage to Riches - no win for Blue Planet 2! Watch out, Attenborough might storm the stage...


20.11: Now we're on with Specialist Factual, aka The Category Blue Planet 2 Is In.

Here are the nominees:

Basquiat: Rage to Riches

Blitz: the Bombs that Changed Britain

Blue Planet II

Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents


20.09: Now we're being shown a little VT about actual child TV presenter Braydon Bent, which is...fine? I don't want to be making jokes about a kid. He's sweet.

He's getting advice from the likes of Sian Gibson, Adrian Dunbar, Sandi Toksvig and Sue Perkins.


20.08: Writer Aysha Rafaele pays tribute to the real young woman who was killed. Interestingly, she was also nominated for Against The Law, I believe, so she's had a good year.


20.06: Ella Purnell and Christian Cooke present the Bafta to BBC3's Murdered for Being Different. Another harrowing real-life story, which is hard to beat as a genre.


20.05: Back to the live show - here are the nominations for best single drama.

Against the Law

Black Mirror: Hang the DJ

King Charles III

Murdered for Being Different


20.03: We're just getting word that the BBC weren't able to start the Bafta TV broadcast for two minutes while the channel was stuck on a continuity card. Why wasn't the Baftas on yet, you ask? Well, we're not sure - but it seems like a major technical difficulty.

Seem like it's working now though. In a very Bafta move, the ceremony hasn't even started and it's already running over.


Nat G and Nat C, Ambulance (BBC, EH)
Nat G and Nat C, Ambulance (BBC, EH)

20.02: Katie Piper is here presenting the award. And the winner is...Ambulance! Well, THE ROOM was close.


20.00: Blasting forward, we've got to Factual Series. Some good nominees here.

Ambulance

Catching a Killer

Drugsland

Hospital

Feeling in the media centre is that Hospital should take it. If they're wrong, I can just blame the room!


19.58: Sharon Horgan accepts the award, and seems a bit thrown by the win!


19.57: Presented by The Mash Report's Nish Kumar and Rachel Parris - the winner is Morgana Robinson’s Summer.

Also some fun back-and-forth between the presenters.


19.56: Now another gear change - Best Short Form Programme!

Nominees are:

Britain’s Forgotten Men

Eating with My Ex

Morgana Robinson’s Summer

PLS Like

I liked PLS Like, personally, but will the Bafta jury?


19.55: Shows how much I know - the award went to World War One Remembered: Passchendaele. Maybe One Love will do well in the must-see moment instead.

Kirsty Wark, accepting the award, pays tribute to veteran Harry Patch.


19.53: Now we have the Live Event award, and the nominees are:

ITV News Election Live: The Results

One Love Manchester

Wild Alaska Live

World War One Remembered: Passchendaele

Think this'll go to One Love Manchester.


19.52: Kirby dedicates award to Margaret (wherever you are) and her "sister" Claire Foy - though quickly then notes that her REAL sisters helped too! Awkward family meal coming up...


Vanessa Kirby as Margaret in The Crown
Vanessa Kirby as Margaret in The Crown (Netflix)

19.51: John Simm presents the award to - Vanessa Kirby! I cheered, audibly.


19.50: Next up, Best Supporting Actress. Strong category, and the nominees are:

Anna Friel – Broken

Julie Hesmondhalgh – Broadchurch

Liv Hill – Three Girls

Vanessa Kirby – The Crown

One for Vanessa, surely?


19.48: Quite weird to have Iain Stirling commentating on what is essentially his own award.

Caroline Flack gave a nice speech, sadly didn't get to hear from Marcel again.


19.46: OK, we appear to be having a weird moment - Sue Perkins and some women were just staring blankly at the camera with a slightly traumatised air.

Charlie Cooper and Daisy-May Cooper present the award to Love Island! Good prediction, room.

ITV2 announce new show from makers of Love Island

19.45: Now a SLIGHT gear change as we head to reality and constructed factual.

Nominee are:

Celebrity Hunted

Love Island

Old People’s Home for Four-Year-Olds

The Real Full Monty

Feeling in the room is that this is Love Island's to lose.


19.44: Another serious, real-life drama, as was the Moorside. Along with Little Boy Blue, there was a lot of this about over the last year.

Cast pay tribute to the real three girls and their families.

"If people came to this programme, it's because of you."


Three Girls

19.42: And the winner is...Three Girls. Very worthy winner.


19.40: Next up - best miniseries, presented by Wunmi Mosaku and Helen George. Nominees are:

Howards End

The Moorside

The State

Three Girls

I feel like this is between The Moorside and Three Girls. Maybe Three Girls will edge it?


19.38: Brian F O’Byrne says "I can't believe I'm one of those people that didn't prepare anything."

Says his difficult to get an award for playing a real person, who's still suffering from grief.

Dedicates the award to Rhys, the little boy who died in the real-life events adapted by the drama.


19.37: Presented by Vanessa Kirby, w00t w00t. And the winner is...Brian F O’Byrne for Little Boy Blue. Another surprise!


19.36: Sue just lightly harassed Ashley Banjo, and now we're up for Best Supporting Actor. Good category, this. Nominees are:

Adrian Dunbar – Line of Duty

Anupam Kher – The Boy with the Topknot

Brian F O’Byrne – Little Boy Blue

Jimmi Simpson – Black Mirror: USS Callister


Elisabeth Moss as June/Offred in The Handmaid's Tale (C4, EH)
Elisabeth Moss as June/Offred in The Handmaid's Tale (C4, EH)

19.33: The winner is The Handmaid's Tale! Finally - I was losing faith in my superhuman powers of zeitgeist.

Although they do actually have a cast member - O-T Fagbenle - so that did ruin my last catty comment. Curses!


19.32: Starting to feel like Iain Stirling might have peaked at the start of this show.

Also, this has been A Serious Bit so he may have struggled to keep up his usual style. You may have noticed I cut back on the jokes for the last couple of awards...


19.31: Next up, International, aka the fancy US shows. Nominees are:

Big Little Lies

Feud: Bette and Joan

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Vietnam War

None of the stars have bothered to turn up though, so this'll probably be picked up by presenters Gabriella Wilde and Josh Whitehouse.

Handmaid's Tale has this, you would think, but I've been wrong so far.


19.29: And the winner is: Panorama Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets.


19.28: Here are the Current Affairs nominees:

Raped: My Story

Dispatches: Syria’s Disappeared The Case Against Assad

Panorama Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets

Exposure: White Right: Meeting the Enemy


19.26: Next up will be current affairs, presented by Steph McGovern.


19.22: Now up to news coverage: one of the less "fun" categories given the subject matter.

Nominees are:

The Battle for Mosul, Sky News

The Grenfell Tower Fire, Channel 4

The Grenfell Tower Fire, ITV News at 10

The Rohingya crisis, Sky News

And Sky news take it for the Rohingya crisis!


19.21: If all this sport chat is making you hanker for some top drama, here's something NOT in the Baftas this year - Benedict Cumberbatch's new drama Patrick Melrose, which you can watch on RadioTimes.com now!

Expect to see this featured in the Baftas next year...


19.19: Bafta goes to the Grand National.


19.17: Next up, sport! Here are the nominees:

Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko

Six Nations: Wales v England

The Grand National

UEFA Women’s Euro Semi-Final: England v Netherlands


19.16: The winner is Murder in Successville. Great show, great winner. First-time nominee!

Apparently there's a film adaptation coming which is...hard to imagine.


19.15: Next up, Best Entertainment Programme. Nominees are:

The Last Leg

Would I Lie to You?

Taskmaster

Murder in Successville.

Hard to call this one...maybe The Last Leg? Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney are presenting this one.


19.13: It's Peaky Blinder's first Bafta! Writer Steven Knight says his only regret is that the cast aren't there, while a producer thanks Snoop Dogg for his celebrity endorsement.

Peaky has a huge amount of fans overseas, in case you didn't know.


BBC Pictures, SL
BBC Pictures, SL

19.11: The winner is peaky Blinders! Well, that's a bit of a surprise.


19.09: OK we're here for the nominations for the first award - Best Drama!

Nominees are The Crown

The End of the F-ing World

Line of Duty

Peaky Blinders.

Surely a win for The Crown, this.


19.07: A few things like Stranger Things getting repped despite n nominations. Also a nod to Huw Edwards' traditional newsreading stance. If nothing else, he has a great name.


19.06: Genuinely too many good jokes for me to write! Fair play, Sue. Now we're watching a little round-up of the year's TV.


19.05: Namechecks Line of Duty, and speculates a few people here may have been doing a few "lines of duty" before the ceremony. Doubt that'll make the edit - or the three f-words she just dropped to talking about The End of the F-ing World.


19.02: MASSIVE cheer for Jodie Whittaker in the room when Sue introduces her.

"If this year had taught us anything, if anyone's got experience fighting off grotesque monsters, it's an actress."

I'm running out of WEEEYYYS guys. My WEEEEY supply is Wey-ning.


19.01: She says the set sums up the TV industry - which is glitzy, but also "two-faced" thanks to the giant Baftas.

So far, Sue is doing a terrific job. Even though she slagged off Love Island.


18.59: Sue Perkins has been welcomed on stage by the Scots Guards!

"Typical - ten men blowing their own trumpets before a woman even opens her mouth."

Weeeeey!

"I'm Sue Perkins - you might know me from LEAVING some of the most successful shows on television."

Double WEEEEEY.

She also hints at the gender pay gap.


18.57: OK, this is definitely veering into drinking game territory now.


18.55: Hilariously, Bafta have hired Iain Stirling to bring his Love Island voiceover stylings to tonight's awards. This is already 10x better than any of the "gags" at the film Baftas earlier this year.


18.53: The celebs are getting an introduction to the awards from a Bafta chairperson, Jane Lush. Sadly, I have no jokes or wordplay to offer about this fact.


18.50: We've managed to dig up a bit more info about that "special Strictly moment" Claudia Winkleman promised us earlier.

Apparently, and some point during the festivities Claudia will come on stage, ask for the judges' scores and then some famous faces in the audience will raise their own Strictly-style paddles.

Almost as good as a nomination, isn't it?


18.48: Claire Foy has been chatting to BBC news on the red carpet, and says that filming the Crown was "such an adventure."

But sadly, she's too busy to enjoy the nuptials of her fictional grandson Prince Harry to Meghan Markle next weekend...

"I'm going to a theatre matinee that day! But of course I'll watch the highlights," she said.

No word yet from Buckingham Palace about this brutal snub.


18.40: But before all that - we've been chatting to Jason Watkins on the red carpet, and he's given us some more information on that series three read-through for The Crown!


18.38: Anyway we're through that now, and the ceremony itself is about to kick off in five minutes! That flew by, actually.


18.37: Even Ore's red carpet shuffle has remarkable grace.


18.35: He's really got those fans in a Lawther...


18.33: Mark Bonnar's also here for Line of Duty, which has been slightly overlooked in previous years.

Could tonight finally be its night?


18.32: OK, This Country's Daisy-May Cooper just won the red carpet.


18.31: And he's not the only Whoniversal citizen to present an award - Jodie Whittaker and Bradley Walsh will be handing out the gong for Best Drama Series, the first category tonight.


18.27: People of the internet, please attend carefully - because John Simm is in the house!

John Simm at the 2018 TV Baftas
John Simm at the 2018 TV Baftas YouTube

He's not here for his Master-full return to Doctor Who last year, though - he's presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress.


18.25: The People Just Do Nothing/Kurupt FM crew joke that they all hate each other, and demanded more money for their final series, hence its move to BBC2.

The cast of People Just Do Nothing at the TV Baftas 2018
The cast of People Just Do Nothing at the TV Baftas 2018

Oh, you guys...


18.23: If The Crown takes home all the awards it's expected to tonight as well, this'll be a big day for fictional Netflix Royals and the people who make up stories about them.


18.22: Vanessa Kirby says that the Crown series three (with the all-new cast) had its first read-through today!

Kirby says "Helena Bonham Carter sent me a really lovely picture, of her and Olivia Colman." That's what we call a successful royal succession.


18.20: Alternative third option: doing the Small Man in a Box voice.


18.19: Emma Willis is being made to play Snog, Marry Avoid. There is no consistency in these red carpet games!! What is the theme? Why is there a siren?


18.18: Roman Kemp just mispronounced a dragon name from Game of Thrones! Just WAIT 'til reddit hears about this. Fuming.


18.17: Let's all meet under Greg Davies later, yeah?


18.15: Ore's now talking about One Love Manchester, the concert held to commemorate the victims of the Manchester bombing attack which is nominated for Must-See Moment AND Live Event (I think). Could just win the moment prize given the event's emotional significance.


18.13: Ore Oduba has reminded me that Roman Kemp is the Bafta interviewer working with Clara Amfo! Sorry Roman, I forgot your name for a moment there.


18.10: In case you were wondering, new Doctor Who companion Bradley Walsh is cutting it up on the red carpet with some other comedic chaps.


18.09: I think the presenter just said Jodie Foster was the new Doctor! That'd be a bit of a twist...


18.08: Sir Mo Farrah is now being quizzed on Bafta trivia - they seem to have given up on the David Attenborough impressions. Be interesting to see if that first one makes the TV broadcast...


18.05: Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker says the show has predicted real-life events so often that "We'll be in the documentary category next year!"

Tonight series four episode Hang the DJ is nominated, along with actors Jimmi Simpson and Joe Cole. Georgina Campbell wuz robbed!


18.04: Could Vanessa Kirby have the Crown-ing glory tonight?

We don't know, and all the awkwardly shoehorned in puns won't tell us. But the Best Supporting Actress nominee is certainly looking like royalty on the red carpet.


18.03: As noted earlier, Marcel Somerville is on the red carpet and tells RadioTimes.com’s Ellie Harrison he’s “still heartbroken” after his split with fellow Love Islander Gabby Allen.

“We usually come to an event like this together and I’m here alone so that’s upsetting.”

Of course, Marcel only has himself to blame for his single pringle status – he released a statement earlier this month, confirming the pair’s split and adding he “can’t really defend his actions as he knows he did wrong and will regret it forever.”

Looks like his Little Book of Love didn’t come in so handy after all: “My book is redundant now”, he laughs.

Oo-er.


18.02: Thandie Newton is here! She was in LA the other day for the Solo: A Star Wars story premiere, and now she's zipped all the way back here to compete for the Best Actress award. What a (storm)trooper.

Thandie Newton at the TV Baftas
Thandie Newton at the TV Baftas

She's also in Westworld tomorrow! Goodness me. According to her, TV is more interesting to act in than movies because there are more developed characters (so sorry, Star Wars! She's still ours).


17.59: Broken's Sean Bean (pronounced Shorn Born, obviously, or Seen Been if you're nasty) is being interviewed and chatting about how he pushed to have Anna Friel in the critically-acclaimed drama with him.

Wonder if he'll say hi to any of the Game of Thrones people?


17.57: Outlander's Sam Heughan is being a charming fellow, as ever, making a fan's day on the red carpet before greeting his onscreen partner Catriona Balfe!


17.52: Jodie is now being interviewed in front of that Red Tardis!

Jodie Whittaker at the Bafta TV awards
Jodie Whittaker at the Bafta TV awards

She says they've halfway through filming the new Doctor Who series, and it's been "exhilarating." Though she's also a little peeved that co-star Bradley Walsh has headed off to the ceremony without her...


17.49: Jodie Whittaker has vworped her way onto the red carpet, and the crowd are chanting her name! Doctor Who executives must be feeling good about their chances when the series returns this autumn.

She's accompanied by Tracey Parsons of the Dorset Rape Crisis Centre, who she worked with on the last series of Broadchurch, and is wearing a TimesUp pin.


17.44: Also Danny Miller from Emmerdale is giving us "the chats".

Confession time - I always mix him up with the murdered little boy from Broadchurch, Danny Latimer. Probably because the murderer was (five-year-old spoiler alert) Joe Miller.


17.43: No man is an island - and certainly not a Love Island. Ellie's been chatting to Marcel Somerville on the red carpet!


17.41: Speaking of Strictly, let's talk about everyone's favourite subject come awards season - the SNUBS!

We already mentioned a few of these early on, but here are a few of the higher-profile series with just one nomination or none at all:

Strictly Come Dancing, Sherlock, The Great British Bake Off, Doctor Foster, Poldark, Call the Midwife, Broadchurch (only Julie Hesmondhalgh is nominated for Best Supporting Actor), Netflix's Stranger Things and EastEnders.

Also, in my estimation, best-show-on-TV Robot Wars has been conspicuously absent from awards chatter. Elitist snobbery (and viewer disinterest) at its height!!

Of course, there are plenty of reasons stuff won't be nominated - Broadchurch was on quite a while ago so has slightly slipped from the consciousness, as has Sherlock, while EastEnders hasn't had a very good year - but there'll still be some very disappointed fans.


17.35: Claudia Winkleman is being interviewed - slightly awkward, because Strictly was rather cruelly snubbed this year. She's here to present an award and (apparently) "mount" the cast of Billions. Also a shout-out for Riverdale, which definitely has wilder storylines than any of the soaps on display here tonight.

Apparently, though, we can expect a "lovely little Strictly moment" in tonight's ceremony, whatever that is. Some sort of skit, maybe?


17.30: Jack Rowan from Born to Kill (Best Actor nominee, fact fans) just did a TERRIBLE David Attenborough impression, which is apparently something they're going to ask a lot of the celebs to try on the red carpet tonight. Gird your loins.


17.29: Dec is only on his way now! Slowpoke. We've all been waiting...


17.28: Jodie herself is actually in attendance tonight, as Doctor Who is up for best TV moment as well, specifically for her unveiling as the new Doctor back in July. For my money, Who has a VERY good chance of taking that award home tonight - it's the only award voted for by fans online, and Doctor Who fans are very well mobilised.

Want to know who else is making an appearance at tonight's ceremony? Believe it or not, we might be able to help you out with that...


17.23: Someone has pointed out that there's a RED Tardis on the carpet, adorned with a 13 to pay tribute to Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor.

No we're wondering if the Time Lords made them with a range of colour options...


17.16: Hollyoaks cast point out an ex-member of their show won an Oscar a few months ago, namely Rachel Shenton (who wrote and starred in a short film called The Silent Child). After that, a Bafta or two should be a cinch.


17.13: Now Marcel off of Love Island is being interviewed! He's here for the biggest TV moment award, voted for by the public, which includes the Love Island skype from Stormzy.

He's apparently a fan of Game of Thrones, aka another nominee in the biggest TV moments category AND my other live blog! Like Marcel, my loyalties are conflicted.


17.10: Journalist, author and screenwriter Caitlin Moran is currently on the red carpet chatting all things Love Island, and about the film being made of her book How to Build a Girl.

Screen Shot 2018-05-13 at 17.09.41
Caitlin Moran at the 2018 TV Baftas

This week she also interviewed Benedict Cumberbatch for Radio Times, so maybe I can call her "our own" Caitlin Moran as well? No? Answers on a postcard.


17.08: I think this magician is called Magical Bones?


17.06: By contrast, the red carpet arrivals are being greeted by a big-band arrangement of Shut Up and Dance With Me.

Someone is also doing close-up card tricks on the red carpet feed. And we thought it'd just be the MAGIC of TV production on display tonight!

(sorry).


17.05: Expect at some point tonight a rather spirited rendition of One from A Chorus Line (you know, the ONE....singular sensation, every little step she takes song) - in the media centre we've heard the band and choir practising it about 4 times.Maybe to introduce host Sue Perkins?

So far, it's still catchy! SO FAR.


17.02: Not long til the red carpet kicks off now, and Emmerdale's Lisa Jane Riley is en route.


17:00: We've talked a lot about the frontrunners in tonight's ceremony - but what about the series that didn't get the chance to compete at all?

Series like Doctor Foster and Inside No. 9 got no representation at all, while series like Broadchurch and Detectorists just got the odd acting nod.

Radio Times TV Editor Alison Graham thinks she knows why - good old-fashioned snobbery...


16.50: Bafta have released their own self-deprecating Bingo card for the ceremony, which certainly saves me trying to think of anything funny to say for the next 10 minutes. Play along at home!

Note: like us, they're probably not allowed to encourage people to use this as a drinking game, because that's IRRESPONSIBLE.


16.48: If, however, you WOULD rather watch on TV (the betrayal!), well, we've got a guide for how to do that as well. Aren't we good to you?


16.39: If you want to make your own (potentially embarrassing) predictions, then here's the full list of nominees tonight, which we'll be updating with the winners throughout the night.

Bafta mask, Getty, SL

16.35: It's anyone's game in the awards tonight - which we're supposed to call the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards, though we may shorten that from time to time - with Netflix's The Crown looking likely to scoop up a few of the big awards, especially in the acting categories and possibly even in best series.

Other near-sure things? Ant and Dec (minus Ant at the moment) will probably pick up the Best Entertainment Programme, and Sean Bean looks likely to triumph in a slightly unusual Best Actor category this year.

For a full look at the Bafta TV favourites, check out our rundown below.

Bafta favourites, Netflix and ITV, SL

16.17: Out on the red carpet for RadioTimes.com is our own Ellie Harrison (admittedly, it'd be weird if she didn't work for us, but hey), who will be keeping us up to date with all the hot looks and hot takes provided by the Bafta celebrity guests.


16.14: We'll be seeing the red carpet kick off properly about 5.00pm (aka 17.00 - I am using some inconsistent ways of timekeeping in this blog, I know) until 6.15, and then the ceremony will start at about 6.45.

Anyone watching at home will have to wait until 8.00pm to see what happens but you - lucky old you! - will be well ahead of them, because you're already reading our up-to-the-minute live blog. Truly, you have your finger on the pulse of popular culture. Well done.


16.08: It is a gorgeous (read - cloudy and slightly humid) spring day here on London's scenic South Bank, where we're ramping up for a night of gorgeous red-carpet looks, slightly overlong speeches and the controversial bit we'll all still be talking about tomorrow morning.

It wouldn't be an awards do without one of those, right?


16.00pm: Hello telly fans, and welcome to our live coverage of the 2018 TV Baftas!

My name's Huw, and I'm here to take you through every twist and turn of tonight's awards ceremony from the high-profile snubs and surprise winners to the awkward live moments that they sometimes cut out of the TV broadcast.

Tonight the TV shows looking take home their own Bafta trophy include Line of Duty, Three Girls, This Country, Black Mirror and The Crown, and only an absolute fool would try to predict who'll come out on top.

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Won't stop me having a go later on, though...

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