‘Pinch me, I’m going to the Baftas’
Edith Bowman on living the dream before A-list awards
No matter how many red carpets she walks or A-listers she interviews, Edith Bowman says she never stops pinching herself.
The broadcaster once again hosts the Bafta Scotland Awards in Glasgow tonight in front of the biggest names in Scottish screen and she can’t wait.
“I’m a fan, so I’m pinching myself most of the time when I’m introducing people like Armando Iannucci,” said Bowman. “The 11-year-old girl inside me is screaming when I get to do this.
“I’m a wee girl from Fife who never thought she was going to get the chance to do what she wanted to do.
It’s bonkers. I don’t know in advance who has won – I only find out when it’s announced. I think it’s such a unique night as well, because you have an amazing collection of people in that room together – people from behind the camera, in front of the camera, current affairs, games writers, short film-makers and so many more. It’s a real celebration of established talent as well as exciting new talent.”
The broadcaster has become the host with the most for movie studios when they want their stars to be interviewed at the latest big-screen premiere. She’s a regular at red-carpet events and there are few movie stars left that she has still to interview.
She said: “It never becomes normal but I love working at them. I’m there because I’m nosey about their creativity and genuinely interested in what they say and how it all comes together. I’m really interested in the craft and creation.”
Bowman has been hosting the Scottish Baftas – which recognises film, TV and gaming – for a number of years and has noticed the positive change in the country’s industry during that time.
She said: “When I first started doing this, there wasn’t so much outreach in terms of productions coming into Scotland to work. Now a whole new generation of craftsmen and women are being trained up to work behind the scenes, so there are amazing opportunities.
“When I was graduating from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, there was nothing and that’s why I moved to London. It was either work in a bar or try further afield, so it’s amazing to see the opportunities across the board, not just in TV and film, but gaming as well, which has a great presence in Scotland.”
Bowman says lots of productions involving Scottish talent have caught her eye this year.
“I absolutely loved Karen Pirie and I was particularly giddy that it was based in Fife and I recognised so much of it. It’s great to see things being filmed regionally rather than in the obvious places. It’s something to celebrate, which we’ll do tonight.
“I thought Vigil was amazing and I continue to love Sex Education. It’s A Sin was such an important piece of drama in terms of telling an old story that still has such a relevance and important message today, so I’m glad to see David Carlyle (who played Gregory) coming to the awards. As for films, Charlotte Wells will definitely be nominated next year for Aftersun. What an exciting Scottish talent and what a great film. There’s just so much on the go at the minute and it’s brilliant to see.”
Bowman’s podcast, Soundtracking, which she established six years ago while still working in radio, looks at the unique relationship between music and film, and her guests have included Warren Beatty, Greta Gerwig, Quentin Tarantino and Bradley Cooper. She was in Glasgow just two weeks ago to host the Scottish Music Awards at The Barrowland and has also been working with Bruce Springsteen, with their latest interview going out last week after The Boss released his latest album.
“For his previous two albums, he had made beautiful companion films and his team asked me to come in and do the Q&A while he was in town,” she explained. “Then, during lockdown, they said he was going to do some press for the records and asked if I would be up for doing the remote international press conference, and then I got another call asking me to do another interview. It’s been awesome and crazy.”
As well as returning home to host the awards shows, Bowman has also spent time in Scotland this year making a new BBC food show.
“It’s called the Great British Food Festival and it will be out in the spring,” she added. “We were in Nairn, Peebles, Glasgow and Stranraer filming. It was great to spend so much time in different nooks and crannies.”