| British Academy Television Award for Best Actress | |
|---|---|
.png) 2025 Recipient:Marisa Abela | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| First award | 1954 (presented 1955) |
| Currently held by | Marisa Abela forIndustry (2025) |
| Website | Official website |
This is a list of theBritish Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. TheBritish Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until 1969, whenWendy Craig won for her performance inNot in Front of the Children. Since 1970, nominees have been announced in addition to the winner, and are listed, with the winner highlighted in blue. The Actress category was split into Leading Actress andSupporting Actress, starting in 2010.
Julie Walters holds the record of most wins in this category with four, followed byDame Judi Dench,Thora Hird, andDame Helen Mirren, with three wins each. The nominations tally includesHelen Mirren andFrancesca Annis having received 6 andJudi Dench andJulie Walters having received 7. The award is currently held byMarisa Abela having won most recently in 2025 forIndustry.
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| Year | Actor | Project | Role(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 (1st) | ||||
| Googie Withers | ||||
| 1956 (2nd) | ||||
| Virginia McKenna | ||||
| 1957 (3rd) | ||||
| Rosalie Crutchley | ||||
| 1958 (4th) | ||||
| Not awarded | ||||
| 1959 (5th) | ||||
| Gwen Watford | ||||
| Year | Actor | Project | Role(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 (6th) | ||||
| Catherine Lacey | ||||
| 1961 (7th) | ||||
| Billie Whitelaw | ||||
| 1962 (8th) | ||||
| Ruth Dunning | ||||
| 1963 (9th) | ||||
| Brenda Bruce | ||||
| 1964 (10th) | ||||
| Vivien Merchant | ||||
| 1965 (11th) | ||||
| Katharine Blake | ||||
| 1966 (12th) | ||||
| Gwen Watford | The Cesar Birotteau/Madam/End Of Term/Take Care Of Madam/The Rules Of The Game | [1] | ||
| Peggy Ashcroft | The Wars of the Roses/Rosmersholm | |||
| June Barry | Four of Hearts - Tilt/Twice Upon a Time/Progress to the Park/No Trams to Lime Street | |||
| Vivien Merchant | The Tea Party | |||
| Moira Redmond | Anatol/The Late Edwina Black/Challenge/R-3 Series/A Tall Stalwart Lancer | |||
| 1967 (13th) | ||||
| Vanessa Redgrave | ||||
| 1968 (14th) | ||||
| Judi Dench | Talking to a Stranger | |||
| 1969 (15th) | ||||
| Wendy Craig | Not in Front of the Children | |||
| Record | Actress | Programme | Age (in years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oldest winner | Thora Hird | Lost for Words | 89 |
| Oldest nominee | |||
| Youngest winner | Molly Windsor | Three Girls | 20 |
| Youngest nominee |
The following people have been awarded the British Academy Television Award for Actress multiple times:
4 wins 3 wins | 2 wins
|
The following people have been nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Actress multiple times:
Note: Julie Walters' two mentions in 2010, count as two separate nominations.