TV is beacon of light, Prince tells the Baftas

...but does that include The Crown, William?

PRINCE WILLIAM has praised the TV industry for acting as a ‘collective beacon of light’ during the pandemic.

The Duke of Cambridge, who is president of Bafta, said the importance of the arts to wellbeing had never been more important than over the past year.

He made his comments in the programme for tonight’s Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards, which is being scaled back as a result of the pandemic and a scandal surrounding allegations against actor Noel Clarke.

‘The screen arts have been a collective beacon of light during these challenging times,’ writes the Prince. ‘The calibre of the nominations at these awards illustrates just that.’ He will not attend tonight’s award show, avoiding potential embarrassment given the Netflix drama The Crown is one of the main contenders this year. Series four of the drama, which included the wedding of William’s parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, was criticised for the brutal way it portrayed the deterioration of the couple’s relationship.

Critics accused the series, which starred Josh O’Connor as the Prince of Wales and Emma Corrin as Diana, of vilifying Charles. Friends of the Prince claimed the show was effectively ‘trolling’ the Royal Family.

A shadow will be cast across the red carpet because of Covid precautions, with a limit on how many stars who can attend in person. Billie Piper, Killing Eve star Jodie Comer and Graham Norton are among those who will be there on the night.

But the pandemic isn’t the only cloud hanging over the event. Bafta bosses have decided not to hand out any of their prestigious Fellowship or Special Awards because of the continuing fallout from the Noel Clarke scandal. In April the organisation suspended the former Doctor Who star’s membership and his Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema award after several women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. Responding to the claims, Mr Clarke said in a statement that he was ‘deeply sorry’ for some of his actions and will seek professional help, but ‘vehemently’ denied any sexual misconduct.

The BBC, which is still reeling from the fallout from its 1995 interview with Princess Diana, is expected to fare well in the awards. Its drama Normal People is in the running for best mini-series and its two young stars Daisy EdgarJones and Paul Mescal are both up for lead acting awards.