| BAFTA Television Awards | |
|---|---|
| Current:2025 British Academy Television Awards | |
 British Academy Television Awards logo | |
| Awarded for | The best in television |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First award | 1955; 70 years ago (1955) |
| Website | bafta.org |
British Academy Television Awards, or theBAFTA TV Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. The BAFTA TV Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour inBritish and world television, equivalent to theBAFTA Film Awards forcinema,Laurence Olivier Awards fortheatre, and theBRIT Awards formusic. The BAFTA TV Awards are considered equivalent to theEmmy Awards.
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until 1958, they were awarded by theGuild of Television Producers and Directors. From 1958 onwards, after the Guild had merged with the British Film Academy, the organisation was known as the Society of Film and Television Arts. In 1976, this became theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts.
From 1968 until 1997, the BAFTA Film and Television awards were presented in one joint ceremony known simply as the BAFTA Awards, but in order to streamline the ceremonies from 1998 onwards they were split in two. The Television Awards are usually presented in April, with a separate ceremony for theTelevision Craft Awards on a different date. The Craft Awards are presented for more technical areas of the industry, such as special effects, production design, or costumes.
The Awards are only open to British programmes—with the exception of the discontinued audience-votedAudience Award and the International Award (this is for a single programme or series acquired from the international marketplace, covering all genres)—but anycable,satellite,terrestrial ordigital television stations broadcasting in the UK are eligible to submit entries, as are independent production companies who have produced programming for the channels. Individual performances, such as from actors, can either be entered by the performers themselves or by the broadcasters. The programmes being entered must have been broadcast on or between January and December of the preceding year to be eligible for the year's awards.[1] Entry is free, and entry forms are made available between November and January each year.[citation needed]
After all the entries have been received, they are voted foronline by all eligible members of the Academy. The programmes and performances attracting the most votes, usually four in each category, are shortlisted as the nominees for each award. The winner is chosen from the four nominees by a special jury of nine academy members for each award, the members of each jury selected by the Academy's Television Committee. Each jury is designed to have a balance in areas such as sex, age and experience, and have experience related to the categories concerned but no direct connections to the short-listed programmes or performers.
There are also a number of non-competitive honorary Awards—theDennis Potter Award for Outstanding Writing for Television; theAlan Clarke Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to Television; theRichard Dimbleby Award for Outstanding Presenter in the Factual Arena; theFellowship for individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to television across their careers, and variousSpecial Awards given on anad hoc basis. These Awards are suggested by the Television Committee and awarded by the Academy's Council. They are not necessarily always given every year, but as and when appropriate.
The Awards ceremony is broadcast on British television, usually the day after it has taken place. Between 1998 and 2006, it was alternated betweenITV andBBC One. But since 2007, it has been broadcast byBBC One.
They are the equivalent of thePrimetime Emmy Awards in theUnited States.
In 1991, a controversial selection was made in the Best Drama Serial category, whenPrime Suspect beatG.B.H. to win the award.[2] Following the ceremony, four of the seven voting members of the jury signed a public statement declaring that they had voted forG.B.H. to win.[2] Jury chairwomanIrene Shubik, who did not cast a vote, refused to comment publicly on the affair, but BAFTA Chairman Richard Price stated that the ballot papers passed on to him by Shubik had shown four votes forPrime Suspect and three forG.B.H.[2] Price claimed that the ballot papers could not be recounted as they had subsequently been destroyed. No blame was ever attached to Shubik by the four judges, and it was to her that they had initially turned to raise the apparent discrepancy with BAFTA.[3]
The main competitive award categories presented every year are:[4]
| Event | Date | Venue | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43rd | 29 April 1997 | Royal Albert Hall | Lenny Henry |
| 44th | 18 May 1998 | Prince of Wales Theatre | Bob Monkhouse |
| 45th | 9 May 1999 | Grosvenor House Hotel | Michael Parkinson[a] |
| 46th | 14 May 2000 | Des Lynam | |
| 47th | 13 May 2001 | Angus Deayton | |
| 48th | 21 April 2002 | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | Chris Tarrant |
| 49th | 13 April 2003 | The Dorchester | Anne Robinson |
| 50th | 18 April 2004 | Grosvenor House Hotel | Davina McCall |
| 51st | 17 April 2005 | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | Graham Norton |
| 52nd | 7 May 2006 | Grosvenor House Hotel | Davina McCall |
| 53rd | 20 May 2007 | London Palladium | Graham Norton |
| 54th | 20 April 2008 | ||
| 55th | 26 April 2009 | Royal Festival Hall | |
| 56th | 6 June 2010 | London Palladium | |
| 57th | 22 May 2011 | Grosvenor House Hotel | |
| 58th | 27 May 2012 | Royal Festival Hall | Dara Ó Briain |
| 59th | 12 May 2013 | Graham Norton | |
| 60th | 18 May 2014 | Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | |
| 61st | 10 May 2015 | ||
| 62nd | 8 May 2016 | Royal Festival Hall | |
| 63rd | 14 May 2017 | Sue Perkins | |
| 64th | 13 May 2018 | ||
| 65th | 12 May 2019 | Graham Norton | |
| 66th | 31 July 2020 | Television Centre, London | Richard Ayoade[6][7] |
| 67th | 6 June 2021 | ||
| 68th | 8 May 2022 | Royal Festival Hall | |
| 69th | 14 May 2023 | Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan | |
| 70th | 12 May 2024 | ||
| 71st | 11 May 2025 | Alan Cumming |