BBC gives Baftas a Love Island makeover

THE BBC is hoping to halt a ratings slide for the Bafta awards by using the voice-over artist from Love Island, the show loved by millennials and social media users.

Iain Sterling will provide a comedic live commentary on the ceremony for viewers at home to draw in a younger audience in the face of declining ratings. They fell from 5.3 million in 2015 to 3.7 million last year. The ceremony is shown on an hour’s delay, meaning that the identity of the winners has already been revealed on social media by the time the BBC One programme begins. Critics argue this makes broadcast increasingly irrelevant.

In an effort to bring it up to date and lighten the tone, Bafta has hired Sterling to comment on the red carpet fashions and the award winners in the style of Graham Norton’s tongue-in-cheek voice-over for the Eurovision Song Contest. Sterling, a former law student turned stand-up comedian, has a le- gion of fans thanks to his narration of Love Island, the hit ITV2 series, which itself has two Bafta nominations. Sue Perkins hosts the official ceremony.

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is favourite to win best entertainment programme. Declan Donnelly will attend alone, as Ant McPartlin has retreated from the limelight following his drink-drive conviction.

Nominees include Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby for their roles in The Crown, and the late Tim Pigott-Smith for his performance in King Charles III.