REEL IN THE BAFTAS

Biblical downpours, drunk and angry stars, wardrobe malfunctions... the Baftas have seen it all. More gets exclusive access to their remarkable photo archive to celebrate 70 years of the glitzy film awards

From a furious Russell Crowe squaring up to the producer who cut his speech short, to a flustered Kate Winslet being sponged down after a torrential downpour, or a giddy Julie Walters making an incoherent speech after a little too much Dutch courage... if they ever made a film of the Baftas, there’d be no shortage of drama to fill it with.

These are just a few of the unscripted highlights that have helped turn one of cinema’s most glamorous nights into a ceremony watched by millions. And as the Baftas turn 70 this year, More has been given exclusive access to their stunning photo archive to bring you the stars up close and personal: waiting to go on stage, or flirting, joking, chatting, – and being far more human than you’ve seen them before.

The ceremony has come a long way from its parochial beginnings, when the awards were presented at a low-key event in a London hotel.

For years they were dominated by British acting aristocracy Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, hobnobbing over drinks with the likes of Julie Christie, Audrey Hepburn and Dirk Bogarde.

But the awards remained the Oscars’ poor relation, and fearing they were losing relevance, in 2002 Bafta undertook a drastic revamp, repositioning the ceremony in mid-February, slap bang in the middle of the Academy Awards campaign trail, luring stars with their eyes on the ultimate movie prize.

It has worked like a dream, giving the ceremony undeniable glamour, though it still retains its own unique personality. Whereas the Oscars seems tightly stagemanaged, the Baftas has a low-key charm, perhaps best typified by Meryl Streep losing a Jimmy Choo on her way to pick up a Best Actress award for The Iron Lady, only for presenter Colin Firth to rush forward to reclaim it, then bend down on one knee to replace it on her foot. That’s movie magic – all without a script.

YOU SEEM SHAKEN AND STIRRED Best Supporting Actress winner Cate Blanchett and presenter Daniel Craig in 2005 WINNER TAKES ALL Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor won Best Actor and Best Actress for Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? in 1967. Taylor is clutching the Oscar she won for the same role, which was presented alongside her Bafta WHERE DO I SIGN? Leonardo DiCaprio signing a picture of himself in The Wolf Of Wall Street. His date for the evening, in 2016, was his mother, Irmelin ALL EYES ON THE PRIZE Main picture: Kate Winslet last year, when she won Best Supporting Actress for Steve Jobs WHO’S IN THE FRAME? Below, from left: Gemma Arterton in 2009; Sharon Stone shelters from the rain in 2009, with Patrick Stewart behind; Kevin Spacey collects his thoughts, 2008; Carey Mulligan and Dominic Cooper in 2009; George Clooney with backstage interviewer Dermot O’Leary in 2014; Imelda Staunton with Keanu Reeves, who presented her Best Actress award for Vera Drake in 2005