Demelza dazzles at the Baftas
IT was the most expensive drama series ever and was expected to sweep the board at the TV Baftas.
But The Crown unexpectedly lost out last night, as BBC1’s gritty crime series Happy Valley stole the show.
Netflix’s The Crown, starring Claire Foy and Matt Smith, had received five nominations and was tipped to be the big winner.
But Happy Valley, made for a fraction of The Crown’s £100million cost, won Best Drama and its star Sarah Lancashire scooped Best Actress ahead of Miss Foy.
An emotional Miss Lancashire said ‘I can’t breathe’ as she collected her award and it took a while before she could begin her speech. In a remark about watching her Bafta rival’s portrayal of a young Elizabeth II, she said: ‘Claire Foy, you have given me the best ten hours under a duvet that I’ve ever had.’
Although fans of the traditional broadcasters were celebrating the BBC’s victory over US on-demand streaming service Netflix, the award came as a shock as the series was blighted by ‘mumbling’ issues.
The night continued to disappoint for The Crown, as Jared Harris and John Lithgow missed out in the supporting actor category to The Night Manager’s Tom Hollander. And Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret, was beaten in the supporting actress category by Wunmi Mosaku, who played Gloria Taylor in Damilola, Our Beloved Boy, a drama about the 2000 murder of a London schoolboy.
The BBC dominated, winning 19 of the 25 awards. Unlike last year, when the ‘luvvies’ used their acceptance speeches to defend the BBC ahead of its charter renewal, this year’s event was largely free of politics.
Nominees had been warned against using the stage as a soapbox to discuss the upcoming general election. They were told that they would be stopped if their speeches jeopardised the BBC’s impartiality rules.
In the absence of political speeches, showbiz glamour was once again in the spotlight. Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson shone in a daring sequin gown with a plunging neckline that left little to the imagination. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old, the dress proved to be impractical for the weather, as the heavens opened on London’s Royal Festival Hall as the A-listers arrived.
Charlotte Riley, who recently starred as Kate Middleton in the BBC drama King Charles III, wore a blue sequin dress with a cut-out back and a split up the thigh.
Former Great British Bake Off presenter Sue Perkins, who hosted the ceremony, received a mixed response to her jokes, which referenced Theresa May, Len Goodman and Top Gear. She appeared to mock the Prime Minister’s campaign slogan, joking: ‘I promise to deliver you a strong and stable Baftas.’
Victoria Derbyshire, 48, who had a mastectomy in 2015 and documented her breast cancer battle in her BBC2 show, won the News Coverage award for her interview in which four former footballers revealed they had been victims of child sex abuse.
Joanna Lumley received the prestigious Bafta Fellowship , while Phoebe Waller-Bridge won the best female performance in a comedy for Fleabag, but denied rumours that she will be the next star of Doctor Who.