Kate Winslet gave a tearful acceptance speech at the Baftas about the dangers of social media, saying: “We want our children back.”
Winslet won the first Bafta television award of her career as leading actress for I Am Ruth, a Channel 4 drama about a mother whose teenage daughter is suffering the toxic effects of spending too much time online.
She starred opposite her real-life daughter, Mia Threapleton, who accompanied her to the ceremony.
“I am guaranteed to be the only one of the night to cry,” Winslet told the audience, before doing just that. She said of the Bafta statuette: “If I could cut this in half, I would give the other half to my daughter. We did this together, kiddo.”
Winslet praised the acting talents of Threapleton, 22, saying that on set “sometimes it took my breath away”.
She added: “I Am Ruth was made for parents and their children – for families who feel that they are held hostage by the perils of the online world, for parents who wish they could communicate with their teenagers but who no longer can, and for young people who have become addicted to social media and its darker sides.”
She called on politicians to criminalise harmful content, saying: “We don’t want it. We want our children back.”
I Am Ruth won the award for best single drama on a strong night for female-led shows. Channel 4’s Derry Girls was named best comedy, while Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters was the surprise winner of the best drama category, beating Sherwood and The Responder.
Claudia Winkleman won best entertainment presenter for The Traitors, the runaway hit of 2022, and the show won the award for best reality show. She joked: “I can’t get emotional because I’m wearing so much eyeliner.”
The award for most memorable moment, the only category chosen by the general public, was for the meeting of Elizabeth II and Paddington as part of the BBC’s Jubilee coverage.
Simon Farnaby, who played the footman in the sketch, joked: “The good old British voting public. You see, sometimes they do get it right.” He added: “Of course, the person who most deserves this award is no longer with us to receive it. We can only accept it on her behalf and say, ‘Thank you, Ma’am, for everything.’”
Ben Whishaw, who voiced Paddington, said that the late Queen “did a brilliant job”.
A royal-themed episode of The Repair Shop, featuring a visit from the King, won the award for best daytime programme.
The ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall was hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan. Organisers had politely asked winners to refrain from making political statements, after last year’s ceremony became a platform for attacking the Government. However, some could not resist.
Siobhan McSweeney, star of Derry Girls, paid tribute to residents of the Northern Irish city. “I am daily impressed with how you encompass the spirit of compromise and resilience despite the indignities, ignorance and stupidity of your so-called leaders in Dublin, Stormont and Westminster,” she said.
Channel 4 won the news coverage award for its reporting from Kyiv. Matt Frei, the presenter, said: “We’ve had the Damocles sword of privatisation hanging over us that makes Penny Mordaunt’s sword look like a toothpick. But it’s gone.”
Ben Whishaw was named leading actor for his role in the NHS drama This Is Going To Hurt, with best supporting actor going to Adeel Akhtar for Sherwood. Best supporting actress went to Anne-Marie Duff for Bad Sisters.
Bafta has faced criticism in recent years over a lack of diversity, but remedied that with a special award for David Olusoga and the Bafta Fellowship for Meera Syal. In the most warmly-received speech of the night, Syal charted her journey from being “a chubby brown kid from Wolverhampton” to four decades in the industry.
Jay Blades, host of The Repair Shop, said he was proud to have blazed a trail: “This is the first time you’ve got a black guy, six foot three, gold tooth, from Hackney, a single parent, and he is on a primetime TV show.”
The Real Mo Farah, which revealed the extraordinary story of the Olympic medallist’s arrival in Britain under a false identity, was named best documentary.
Fourteen-year-old Lenny Rush won best male performance in a comedy programme for Am I Being Unreasonable?
Channel 4’s one-off revival of the 1980s show Friday Night Live won best comedy entertainment programme. The award was collected by Ben Elton, who thanked Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng “for gifting me unquestionably the best week to do a topical comedy show since Edwina Currie single-handedly tanked the egg industry in 1988”.
The BBC led the field with 13 wins, which also included Casualty and coverage of the Women’s Euro 2022. ITV picked up a single prize, for The Masked Singer. Its host, Joel Dommett, said: “We really didn’t expect this. Strictly usually wins everything.”
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