BAFTA TV Awards: Michaela Coel wins big as John Boyega loses category

Michaela Coel, British actress and singer, emerged the biggest winner at the TV category of the 2021 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.

The category of the annual awards, which celebrates technical achievements in television, took place in West London on Sunday.

Coel snagged the ‘Leading Actress’ and ‘Best Mini-Series’ prizes respectively for ‘Show I May Destroy You’, her popular drama series.

Paul Mescal, Irish actor, also won big on the night as he clinched the ‘Best Leading Actor’ category for his role in ‘Normal People’, a 2020 drama series produced by BBC Three.

Mescal beat the likes of John Boyega, Nigerian-British actor, and Josh O’Connor, who were nominated for the same category for their roles in ‘Small Axe’ and ‘The Crown’ respectively.

The award ceremony, which was presided over by Richard Ayoade, is BAFTA’s first major in-person event since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

It comes after the organisers suspended special individual prizes for this year’s category of the awards over backlash trailing sexual assault claims against Noel Clarke, its recent recipient.

Below is the full list of nominees with the winners in bold:

Drama Series

Gangs Of London – Sky Atlantic
I Hate Suzie – Sky Atlantic
Save Me Too – Sky Atlantic
The Crown – Netflix

Comedy Entertainment Programme
Charlie Brooker’s Antiviral Wipe – BBC Two
Rob & Romesh Vs – Sky One
The Big Narstie Show – Channel 4
The Ranganation – BBC Two

Entertainment Performance
Adam Hills, The Last Leg – Channel 4
Bradley Walsh, Beat The Chasers – ITV
Claudia Winkleman, Strictly Come Dancing – BBC One
David Mitchell, Would I Lie To You? At Christmas – BBC One
Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show – BBC One
Romesh Ranganathan, The Ranganation – BBC Two

Entertainment Programme
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway – ITV
Life & Rhymes – Sky Arts
Strictly Come Dancing – BBC One
The Masked Singer – ITV

Factual Series
Crime & Punishment – Channel 4
Hospital – BBC Two
Losing It: Our Mental Health Emergency – Channel 4
Once Upon A Time In Iraq – BBC Two

Features
Big Zuu’s Big Eats – Dave
Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace – ITV
Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – BBC Two

The Repair Shop – BBC One

Leading Actress
Billie Piper, I Hate Suzie – Sky Atlantic
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Normal People – BBC Three
Hayley Squires, Adult Material – Channel 4
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve – BBC One
Letitia Wright, Small Axe – BBC One
Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You – BBC One

Female Performance In A Comedy Programme
Aimee Lou Wood, Sex Education – Netflix
Daisy Haggard, Breeders – Sky One
Daisy May Cooper, This Country – BBC Three
Emma Mackey, Sex Education – Netflix
Gbemisola Ikumelo, Famalam – BBC Three
Mae Martin, Feel Good – Channel 4

Leading Actor
John Boyega, Small Axe – BBC One
Josh O’Connor, The Crown – Netflix
Paapa Essiedu, I May Destroy You – BBC One
Paul Mescal, Normal People – BBC Three
Shaun Parkes, Small Axe – BBC One
Waleed Zuaiter, Baghdad Central – Channel 4

News Coverage
BBC News At Ten: Prime Minister Admitted To Intensive Care – BBC One
Channel 4 News: Deterring Democracy – Channel 4
Newsnight: Covid Care Crisis – BBC Two
Sky News: Inside Idlib – Sky News

International
Little America – Apple TV+
Lovecraft Country – Sky Atlantic
Unorthodox – Netflix
Welcome To Chechnya: The Gay Purge (Storyville) – BBC Four

Mini-Series
Adult Material – Channel 4
I May Destroy You – BBC One
Normal People – BBC Three
Small Axe – BBC One

Live Event
Life Drawing Live! – BBC Four
Springwatch 2020 – BBC Two
The Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance – BBC One
The Third Day: Autumn – Sky Atlantic

Reality & Constructed Factual
Masterchef: The Professionals – BBC One
Race Across The World – BBC Two
The School That Tried To End Racism – Channel 4
The Write Offs – Channel 4

Supporting Actor
Kunal Nayyar, Criminal: UK – Netflix
Malachi Kirby, Small Axe – BBC One
Michael Sheen, Quiz – ITV
Micheal Ward, Small Axe – BBC One
Rupert Everett, Adult Material – Channel 4
Tobias Menzies, The Crown – Netflix

Male Performance In A Comedy Programme
Charlie Cooper, This Country – BBC Three
Guz Khan, Man Like Mobeen – BBC Three
Joseph Gilgun, Brassic – Sky One
Ncuti Gatwa, Sex Education – Netflix
Paul Ritter, Friday Night Dinner – Channel 4
Reece Shearsmith, Inside No 9 – BBC Two

Scripted Comedy
Ghosts – BBC One
Inside No 9 – BBC Two
Man Like Mobeen Production Team – Tiger Aspect Productions/BBC Three
This Country – BBC Three

Short Form Programme
Criptales – BBC Four
Disabled Not Defeated: The Rock Band With Learning Disabilities – Vice/Noisey
The Main Part – BBC iPlayer
They Saw The Sun First – Red Bull TV

Single Drama
Anthony – BBC One
BBW (On The Edge) – Channel 4
Sitting In Limbo – BBC One
The Windermere Children – BBC Two

Soap & Continuing Drama
Casualty – BBC One
Coronation Street – ITV
EastEnders – BBC1
Hollyoaks – Channel 4

Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown – Netflix
Leila Farzad, I Hate Suzie – Sky Atlantic
Rakie Ayola, Anthony – BBC One
Siena Kelly, Adult Material – Channel 4
Sophie Okenedo, Criminal: UK – Netflix
Weruche Opia, I May Destroy You – BBC One

Current Affairs
America’s War On Abortion (Exposure) – ITV
Italy’s Frontline: A Doctor’s Diary – BBC Two
The Battle For Hong Kong (Dispatches) – Channel 4
The Cyprus Papers Undercover (Al Jazeera Investigations) – Al Jazeera Media Network/Al Jazeera English

Daytime
Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On – BBC One
Richard Osman’s House Of Games – BBC Two
The Chase – ITV
The Great House Giveaway – Channel 4

Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment (voted for by the public)
Bridgerton, Penelope is revealed as Lady Whistledown – Netflix
Britain’s Got Talent, Diversity perform routine inspired by events of 2020 – ITV
EastEnders, Gray kills Chantelle – BBC One
Gogglebox, reactions to Boris Johnson’s press conference – Channel 4
Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat, Mee-Cro-Wah-Vay – BBC Two
The Mandalorian, Luke Skywalker arrives – Disney+

Sport
Bahrain Grand Prix – Sky Sports
England v France: The Final Of Autumn Nations Cup – Amazon Prime Video
England v West Indies Test Cricket – Sky Sports
London Marathon 2020 – BBC

Specialist Factual
Extinction: The Facts – BBC One
Putin: A Russian Spy Story – Channel 4
The Rise Of The Murdoch Dynasty – BBC Two
The Surgeon’s Cut – Netflix

Single Documentary
American Murder: The Family Next Door – Netflix
Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism & Me – BBC One
Locked In: Breaking The Silence (Storyville) – BBC Four
Surviving Covid – Channel 4