‘My heart is full of happiness’: BAFTA honour for Floella
TV STAR and peer Floella Benjamin will receive a BAFTA Fellowship at tonight’s award ceremony.
The baroness, 74, is best known for presenting children’s show Play School from 1976 until 1988, before becoming a prominent charity campaigner.
She said her “heart was full of joy and happiness” after hearing she would receive a fellowship for her services to television at tonight’s event in London.
Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, 49, is nominated for two BAFTAS, one for her original holiday special, Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, in the Best Entertainment category. She is also tipped to win a Best Entertainment Performance gong for co-hosting last year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.
Streaming service Apple TV, which made comedy football drama Ted Lasso, is leading the way with 13 nominations for its programmes, including spy drama Slow Horses and dystopian thriller Silo.
Baroness Benjamin acted in various TV productions on both BBC and ITV. She said: “I feel as if I’m standing on the summit of life’s mountain, looking down at the wonderful experiences I have had.
“It’s been an adventurous journey, with many challenges and adversities, but here I am, receiving the highest accolade BAFTA can bestow.”
Made a life peer by the Liberal Democrats in 2010, her legislative work has focused on children’s rights, diversity and media. Chair of BAFTA, Sara Putt said she was an “unstoppable force for good”.
The BAFTA TV Awards is on BBC One tonight at 7pm.