BAFTA Television Awards 2021: Steve McQueen’s acclaimed Windrush series Small Axe and The Crown lead nominations while I May Destroy You also land nods following awards snub
- The Netflix drama landed 10 nominations across the TV and Craft categories, including nods for Josh O’Connor, Tobias Menzies and Helena Bonham Carter
- Small Axe landed the most nods with 15, including two for John Boyega and Shaun Parkes in the Leading Actor category
The nominations for the 2021 British Academy Television Awards have been revealed, with Small Axe, The Crown and I May Destroy You leading the pack.
The BBC series landed a total of 15 nominations after being praised by critics for its collection of tales focused around black British characters.
Also among this year’s contenders was the hit drama Normal People with seven nods, while I Hate Suzie followed close behind with five nominations.
Exciting: The nominations for the 2021 British Academy Television Awards have been revealed, with Small Axe (John Boyega pictured), The Crown and I May Destroy You leading the pack.
Small Axe, which was directed by Steve McQueen and landed a record 15 nominations including two nods in Leading Actor for stars John Boyega and Shaun Parkes, and one for Letitia Wright in Leading Actress.
As well as a nod in the Mini-Series category, both Michael Ward and Malachi Kirby earned nominations for Supporting Actor.
Small Axe earned a further nine nominations in the Craft categories, including Costume Design, Director: Fiction, Editing Fiction, Make-up & Hair Design, Production Design, Scripted Casting, and Writer: Drama.
In total The Crown landed four nominations in the TV categories; Drama Series, Leading Actor, Supporting Actor for Tobias Menzies and Supporting Actress for Helen Bonham Carter.
The series also earned a further six nods in the Craft categories, Costume Design, Director: Fiction, Editing Fiction, Make-up & Hair Design, Photography & Lighting: Fiction, Production Design, Scripted Casting, Sound: Fiction and Writer: Drama.
This year saw The Crown release its fourth series, focusing on Princess Diana’s turbulent marriage to husband Prince Charles.
I May Destroy You, which was praised for its story depicting a woman trying to rebuild her life after being assaulted on a night out, was recognised in the Mini-Series category.
Stars Michaela Coel, Paaapa Essiedu also landed nods for Leading Actress and Actor respectively, while Weruche Opia earned recognition in Supporting Actress.
The recognition will be welcome by many fans after the show was completely snubbed by the Golden Globe Awards, and also came away empty-handed from the Critics Choice Awards.
It comes after the nominees for the 2021 Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards’ Must-See Moment prize were revealed on Tuesday.
Diversity’s controversial BLM-inspired dance, which sparked 24,500 complaints to Ofcom last year, was on the shortlist for the award, which is voted for by the public.
Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown shock twist that revealed Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) as the mysterious gossip also led the list of nominees.
Shortlist: It comes after the nominees for the 2021 Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards’ Must-See Moment prize were revealed on Tuesday
Other notable moments singled out for the gong include when Luke Skywalker appeared in the climax of The Mandalorian’s second season, helping its titular character and others while they stormed an Empire ship.
The shocking moment Chantelle (Jessica Plummer) was killed by her abusive husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) on EastEnders also got a mention.
While Nigella Lawson’s amusing pronunciation of microwave as ‘meecro-wah-vey’ on her BBC2 cooking show Cook, Eat, Repeat was also nominated.
And the reactions of the Gogglebox cast to the press conference Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave after being hospitalised with coronavirus was also given a nod.
Drama: Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown shock twist, which revealed Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan, pictured) as the mysterious gossip, was also on the shortlist
Shortlist: Diversity’s dance saw group leader Ashley have a white man’s knee leaning on his neck, in reference to the death of George Floyd, and sparked 24,500 complaints to Ofcom
2021 Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards Must-See Moment nominees
Britain’s Got Talent – Diversity perform a routine inspired by the events of 2020 (ITV1)
Bridgerton – Penelope is revealed as Lady Whistledown (Netflix)
EastEnders – Gray Atkins kills wife Chantelle (BBC One)
Gogglebox – Reactions to Boris Johnson’s press conference (Channel 4)
Nigella: Cook, Eat, Repeat – Mee-cro-wah-vay (BBC Two)
The Mandalorian – Luke Skywalker appears (Disney+)
The nominees were chosen from a longlist based on audience viewing figures provided by BARB, social listening data from TalkWalker, and vigorous research to represent TV viewing across the country.
The final shortlist were then selected by an independent virtual jury of national media experts including TV critic Caitlin Moran, it was chaired by BAFTA Television Committee Chair Hannah Wyatt.
Of the nominees, Hannah said: ‘Television in 2020 showcased the importance of entertainment and demonstrated incredible craft, gripping scriptwriting and brilliant visual spectacles which captivated the British viewer.
‘From bringing nostalgic favourites back, to raising awareness about hugely important issues, the shows and moments nominated for Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment Award 2021 reflect our TV habits of the last year and perfectly celebrate the relationship between the TV viewers at home and the people who make it.
‘I can’t wait to see who the public choose to be their Virgin Media Must-See Moment winner, in what is sure to be a close contest.’
David Bouchier, Chief TV & Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, added in a statement: ‘2020 was a year like no other and great television was at the heart of every moment that kept the nation connected, entertained and informed.
‘Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment recognises the TV moments that played such a powerful role in all of our lives throughout the past year.
‘As households across the country stayed at home, TV became our main source of entertainment and distraction, with people turning to television more than ever before to tune into the latest news or catch up on the moment that everyone was talking about.’
Tragic: The shocking moment Chantelle (Jessica Plummer, left) was killed by her abusive husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith, right) on EastEnders also got a mention
Micro-what? Nigella Lawson’s amusing pronunciation of microwave as ‘meecro-wah-vey’ on her BBC2 cooking show Cook, Eat, Repeat was also nominated
David added: ‘We can’t wait to see who the public will crown the fifth winner of our Must-See Moment award.’
Diversity’s performance on the most recent series of Britain’s Got Talent received 24,500 Ofcom complaints, making it the most complained about TV moment of the year in 2020.
ITV ‘stood with Diversity’ as they featured adverts in national newspapers in support of the controversial dance while Ofcom announced they will not investigate the complaints any further.
Cameo: Other notable moments singled out for the gong include when Luke Skywalker appeared in the climax of The Mandalorian’s second season
The reactions of the Gogglebox cast to the press conference Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave after being hospitalised with coronavirus was also given a nod (pictured Jenny and Lee)
The act saw group leader Ashley have a white man’s knee leaning on his neck, in reference to the death of black man George Floyd last year.
In October, Ashley admitted he had been encouraged to ramp up his Black Lives Matter campaign following the ‘hate’ he received over his Diversity routine, and he said he would perform the same routine ‘100 times over’.
He revealed that although the routine sparked backlash, it also started a dialogue which lasted weeks as he dubbed it one of the ‘most impactful conversation starters the country has ever seen’.
Voting for the category is open from April 27 at 8am until May 24 at 5pm, with the nominees all representing the most talked about moments of the year.
The winner of this year’s Must-See Moment award will be revealed on June 6, when the 2021 Virgin Media British Television Academy Awards airs on BBC One.
Comedian Richard Ayoade is set to return as host of the ceremony for a second year, and it will be a studio-based production being broadcast live.
Members of the public can vote for their favourite Must-See Moment online at https://www.virginmedia.com/virgin-tv-edit/bafta-must-see-moment-vote-2021.
Support: ITV ‘stood with Diversity’ last year and featured adverts in national newspapers in support of them, while Ofcom announced they would not investigate the complaints further
Encouraging: In October, Ashley admitted he has been encouraged to ramp up his Black Lives Matter campaign following the ‘hate’ he received over his Diversity routine
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