Adolescence Dominates Bafta Television Awards
Netflix drama Adolescence emerged as the leading winner at the Bafta Television Awards held on Sunday, securing four awards—the highest number ever won by a single show in one year. Alongside Adolescence, The Celebrity Traitors and Last One Laughing also received multiple accolades.
The Celebrity Traitors and Last One Laughing each won two awards, while Adolescence took home four, including best limited series. The drama, which sparked national conversation upon its release in March 2025, also earned acting awards for its cast members Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, and Christine Tremarco.
At just 16 years old, Owen Cooper became the youngest ever recipient of the best supporting actor award.
A Little Help from His Friends
Cooper's Bafta adds to an impressive collection of accolades including an Emmy, Golden Globe, National Television Award, Royal Television Society Award, and Actor Award, all for his portrayal of a boy accused of murdering a female classmate.
"In the words of John Lennon, you won't get anything unless you have the vision to imagine it," Cooper said in his acceptance speech. "So in my eyes I think you only need three things to succeed: one, you need an obsession; two, you need a dream; and, three, you need the Beatles."
Stephen Graham was awarded best leading actor for his role as Cooper's on-screen father, while Christine Tremarco won best supporting actress for playing his mother. This marked Graham's first Bafta win after seven previous nominations.
"We're not digging holes, we're not digging ditches, we're not saving lives, but we have the opportunity to tell the human condition, and we have the obligation to tell beautiful stories and we need to keep that going," Graham said.
Actress Wins for Zaghari-Ratcliffe Drama
Narges Rashidi, born in Iran, received the best leading actress award for her portrayal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in BBC One's real-life drama Prisoner 951. Rashidi dedicated her award to Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, who endured six years of imprisonment in Tehran.
"Your resilience, your dignity, your love through impossible circumstances have moved us all. Your courage will stay with me for the rest of my life. This is for you," Rashidi said during the ceremony.
ITV's Code of Silence, featuring Rose Ayling-Ellis as a deaf woman who assists police through lip reading, won the award for best drama.
Alan Carr Wins Again
The Celebrity Traitors, the most-watched programme of the previous year with over 15 million viewers, won best reality programme. Host Claudia Winkleman dedicated the award to the show's cast.
"Extraordinary cast who played with dignity, gusto and their entire hearts and we love them," Winkleman said while accepting the award.
Alan Carr’s victory on the programme was named the year's most memorable TV moment—the only Bafta award voted for by the public.
"Was I good? Was I really - or were the other celebrities just thick?!" Carr joked, referencing their failure to identify him as a Traitor.
Prime Video’s Last One Laughing was awarded best entertainment programme, surpassing BBC One staples such as The Graham Norton Show, Michael McIntyre's Big Show, and Would I Lie To You. Bob Mortimer earned the Bafta for best entertainment performance for his efforts to keep a straight face while making fellow comedians laugh.
Coogan Will Play Alan Partridge 'Until I Die'
Steve Coogan won best actor in a comedy for How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge).
"Doing comedy in these troubled times is so important. It's a privilege to make people laugh after all these years," Coogan said.
"I will keep on doing it. If anyone wants to know when Alan Partridge is going to die, it's about the same time that I am going to die."
Katherine Parkinson was named best comedy actress for her role as Rachel, a mother in the family sitcom Here We Go. Her competitors included Lucy Punch, Philippa Dunne, Jennifer Saunders from Amandaland, as well as Diane Morgan and Rosie Jones.
Amandaland won best scripted comedy, four years after Motherland—which introduced the title character—won the same award. Creator Holly Walsh expressed gratitude for the recognition.
"This award means so much, to all the people who come up to us and say 'I am an Amanda' or 'I know an Amanda!'" Walsh said.
Win for Gaza Doctors Film Dropped by BBC
The current affairs prize was awarded to Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, a documentary that was pulled by the BBC last year due to impartiality concerns but later aired on .
Reporter and producer Ramita Navai spoke about the significance of the award and the human toll in Gaza.
"This award means so much to us," Navai said. "These are the findings of our organisation that the BBC failed to show but we refused to be silenced and censored and we thank ."
Ben de Pear, founder of Basement Films which produced the documentary, addressed the BBC during the ceremony.
"Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?" he asked, also thanking journalists reporting from Gaza.
When the BBC shelved the documentary, it stated it was committed to impartial and fair reporting of all aspects of the Middle East conflict.
De Pear's remarks were later included in BBC One's broadcast of the awards as part of the winners' summary.
Netflix's Grenfell: Uncovered, documenting the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire that claimed 72 lives, won best single documentary. Director Olaide Sadiq expressed gratitude for the recognition.
"The victims of Grenfell deserve much more than remembrance - they deserve accountability, change and justice," Sadiq said.
Other winners included EastEnders for best soap, Scam Interceptors for best daytime show, and Go Back To Where You Came From for factual entertainment.
Poignant Speeches by Mary Berry and Martin Lewis
Dame Mary Berry, former judge of Great British Bake Off, received the Bafta Fellowship, the highest lifetime achievement award, at age 91.
"I'm really bowled over by this accolade. I'm a cook, I'm a teacher, so I feel very honoured to be given Bafta's highest award," Berry said.
She concluded her speech by thanking her three children, including her late son William, who died in a car accident in 1989 at age 19.
"William is in heaven, but I thank him," she added.
Financial expert Martin Lewis was also honoured with the Special Award.
"I wrote the speech on Thursday, 42 years after the death of my mother when I was 11," Lewis said emotionally. "For six years, barring school, I barely left the house. Now I'm picking up a Bafta."
"Life can be transformed, it can get better. If you had told that broken, scared boy that I'd proudly be a campaigning journalist, his jaw would have dropped. So I dedicate this to consumer journalism, where I found my voice."
