One’s up for a Bafta! Claire tipped for win but spy Tom misses out
CLAIRE Foy looks set for a royal night at the TV Baftas, after receiving a best actress nomination for the second year in a row.
The 32-year-old said she was ‘honoured’ to be recognised for her performance as a young Queen elizabeth in The Crown, which dominated with five nominations overall.
But while she and the team behind the £100million Netflix drama were celebrating yesterday, it wasn’t such good news for Tom Hiddleston, who was snubbed by judges.
The 36-year-old was widely expected to get a nomination in the best actor category for his performance in BBC spy drama The Night Manager, for which he has already won a Golden Globe. Yet only his co-star Tom Hollander featured on the list.
Other notable omissions included The Missing and Line of Duty, prompting an outcry among fans of the BBC dramas.
However, Bafta chairman Jane Lush sug-
‘Incredibly fierce competition’
gested yesterday that the competition in the drama category was ‘incredibly fierce’, and that the juries have many more shows to consider.
She said: ‘Whereas a few years ago people were choosing four [nominees] out of six contenders for drama series, they’re now probably looking at ten or even more.’
Many commentators have pointed to a change in the rules, which means shows can be nominated for the main categories if they have mainly British talent, even if they haven’t been made by a British broadcaster.
Miss Foy’s nomination for The Crown comes after her best actress nod last year for her lead role in BBC drama Wolf Hall, though the category was won by Suranne Jones. Having already won a Golden Globe for her role in The Crown, Miss Foy is widely tipped to triumph at the awards on May 14. Along with her nomination, Jared Harris, John Lithgow and Vanessa Kirby are all nominated for best supporting actors and the programme is nominated in the best drama category.
Miss Lush also said Bafta had responded to the ‘clamour’ for more diversity in the nominations. Adeel Akhtar is nominated for best leading actor for Murdered By My Father, while Babou Ceesay, who appeared in Damilola, Our Loved Boy, is in the same category.
ed Balls’ famous Gangnam Style routine for Strictly made the list of must-see TV moments, in a category that also included planet earth II’s snakes versus iguana chase.