IT’S the awards ceremony that has faced furious accusations of snobbery in recent years, thanks to its highbrow nominations.
Now the TV Baftas has finally fallen in line with the opinions of the nation, with the latest list of potential winners better reflecting our most-watched series and favourite stars on the box.
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The move follows more than a decade of Bafta facing claims of pandering to niche tastes and “wokery”.
The backlash reached its peak when favourites such as The Great British Bake Off and Love Island were snubbed in 2018, followed by Line Of Duty in 2022 and Gogglebox in 2023.
Last year, Netflix hit Black Mirror was missing from the line-up, alongside Imelda Staunton’s performance in the final series of The Crown, and Gary Oldman’s turn in Slow Horses.
But, at long last, this year’s nominations appear to strike a new balance, shedding their aloof image and connecting with the majority of viewers.
Household names known and loved by the public are finally up for gongs.
Among them, Gavin & Stacey’s Ruth Jones could win for her performance as Nessa in the BBC show’s much-loved finale, as could former EastEnders star Danny Dyer in Sky comedy Mr Bigstuff and the panel of long-running ITV daytime staple Loose Women.
Aloof image
Reality favourite The Traitors, entertainment shows Saturday Night Take- away and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show plus hit dramas Blue Lights and The Responder also all made the cut this time round.
And fan favourites such as Strictly, Graham Norton and Dragons’ Den are in the running, too.
Here, Jess Lester reveals who to look out for ahead of Sunday’s ceremony.
MR BIGSTUFF
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TELLY hardman Danny Dyer has been nominated for his first Bafta this year – after swapping Albert Square for a Sky comedy drama.
He could take home the gong for Male Performance In A Comedy for his role as estranged brother Lee Campbell in hit series Mr Bigstuff.
The ex-soap star also appeared in Disney+ series Rivals, which is up for three awards – Memorable Moment, David Tennant as Leading Actor, and Katherine Parkinson as Supporting Actress.
Danny is up against Changing Ends’ Oliver Savelll for his role as young Alan Carr, Kaos’s Nabhaan Rizwan, Smoggie Queen’s Phil Dunning, G’wed’s Dylan Thomas-Smith and Extraordinary’s Bilal Hasna.
LOOSE WOMEN
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AFTER nearly a quarter of a century on screen, the Loose Women were finally recognised with a Bafta nomination for the first time last year, when they were competing against Lorraine Kelly’s self-titled show in the Daytime category.
It was Scam Interceptors that took home the gong, but the panellists – who include the likes of Judi Love, Jane Moore, Linda Robson, Coleen Nolan and Charlene White – are getting a second shot this time around.
The ITV show will compete against three popular BBC series – Richard Osman’s House Of Games, Clive Myrie’s travel series Caribbean Adventure, and Morning Live.
GAVIN & STACEY
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THE show’s been snubbed for an award in the comedy category, despite a record-breaking 19million viewers watching the finale last Christmas, but it could still take home a gong thanks to actress and writer Ruth Jones.
Ruth, who plays Nessa, competes against the likes of Nicola Coughlan, Kate O’Flynn and Sophie Willan for Female Performance In A Comedy.
The hour-long festive special is also nominated for the P&O Memorable Moment award, for the scene where Larry Lamb’s Mick stood up to stop James Corden’s Smithy marrying the wrong woman.
Netflix’s Bridgerton, ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, David Tennant’s Disney+ series Rivals, and the BBC’s Strictly and Traitors are also up for it.
DRAGONS’ DEN
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IT’S one of the BBC’s longest running reality series, so there’s little surprise that Dragons’ Den is up for the Reality Category – 17 years after it was last nominated for Best Features.
Dragons Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Sara Davies, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman will go up against Matt and Emma Willis’s Netflix hit Love Is Blind UK, which was viewed40million times.
The BBC One series, which first aired in 2005 and is currently in its 22nd season, will also compete against popular new Channel 4 format The Jury: Murder Trial, and The Traitors’ third series.
MR BATES VS THE POST OFFICE
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IT has already won the BAFTA Special Award thanks to its influence in changing the law – but it could take home a total of six more.
Toby Jones will battle it out for the Leading Actor gong for his role in the show, based on the post office scandal. It was 2024’s biggest drama, with the finale attracting an impressive 13.8million viewers.
He goes up against Gary Oldman, who has been recognised for his role in Apple TV+ drama Slow Horses, Martin Freeman in BBC copper drama The Responder, and Richard Gadd in the harrowing Baby Reindeer, which raked up almost two billion viewing hours on Netflix.
In the Leading Actress category, Monica Dolan is up against Billie Piper for her role in the Prince Andrew drama Scoop and Hollywood star Marisa Abela for her role in Industry.
Mr Jones vs. . . is also against Baby Reindeer, One Day and Lost Boys and Fairies in the Limited Drama category.
THE 1% CLUB
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IT’S currently the biggest game show on UK television, with the most recent series drawing in a record number of viewers.
Lee Mack’s puzzling quiz has become ITV’s biggest original game show in more than a decade. It was locked in for two more seasons last year, shortly after the launch of a chart-topping live play-along app.
The show took home two gongs at the National Television Awards in 2023 and 2024, ahead of this year’s Bafta nod.
The 1% Club is going up against Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Taskmaster and Would I Lie To You? in the Entertainment category.
THE TRAITORS
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SERIES three of the BBC’s hit reality game show The Traitors set a new record earlier this year, when more than seven million tuned in to see whether a Traitor or a Faithful would take home the big prize.
It means the series could win yet another award thanks to host Claudia Winkleman, who has been nominated once again in the Entertainment Performance category, after winning it in 2023,.
Claudia, who also has a shot at lifting a gong with both The Traitors and Strictly’s nominations in the Memorable Moment category and in the Reality TV categories, goes up against ITV faves Ant and Dec for the return of Saturday Night Takeaway, and BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show.
Joe Lycett’s Late Night Lycett, Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett’s Sky series Rob And Romesh Vs . . . , and Stacey Solomon’s house-fixing show Sort Your Life Out have also been nominated.
