Good evening, and a very warm welcome to the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises. This is my final year as Chair of BAFTA, and the last three years have deepened my love for television, cemented my respect for this community and clarified for me beyond all doubt its enduring influence. So tonight feels deeply personal — because this is, quite simply, my love letter to television.
Television is a medium I love. I’ve been privileged to work in it for nearly four decades, and it has been a constant companion, bringing comfort, challenge and connection.
Thirty-five years ago, when I set up my company, I found my tribe: the people behind the camera, the talent in front of it, and the teams in between. Through your creativity, resilience and innovation you give us joy, meaning and moments we never forget.
The last three years have been tumultuous — for our industry, our audiences, and our sense of certainty. But television’s power has only grown: it convenes like no other medium, starts conversations, and shifts culture.
It can break our hearts, as Adolescence has. Lift our spirits with comedies like Last One Laughing and Amandaland; and celebrate friendship through shows such as Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job. And it can hold power to account and agitate for change as our world-leading current affairs, factual and documentary nominees show.
This has been an exceptional year for television. Across 124 nominated programmes, we see British storytelling at its best. Not to forget our International nominees that show how television creates connections across cultures and borders. It’s especially exciting to see so many first-time performance nominees, they are the people shaping our industry’s future.
We talk often about television’s power — to inform, entertain, connect, and change lives. Tonight, we honour two remarkable individuals who epitomise this.
Our new TV Fellow, Dame Mary Berry DBE, has brought extraordinary warmth and expertise to our screens for more than sixty years, inspiring a nation to discover and rediscover the joy of baking. And in awarding the TV Special Award to Martin Lewis CBE, we recognise a true public service — using television to inform and empower audiences to stand up for their rights.
And tonight, I can’t let the moment pass without wishing a very happy birthday to Sir David Attenborough — whose work reminds us, more than anyone, of television’s power to inspire awe, understanding and care for our world.
There is something else I want to lobby for tonight: kindness. We can debate and challenge one another — but when we do it with respect, we build a stronger industry together.
Crises will come — through economic pressure, creative uncertainty or cultural change. But television adapts, because the people who make it are resourceful, resilient and inventive. When we stand together, we don’t just endure; we grow stronger.
People sometimes say television is fading — or finished. To which I can only borrow Oscar Wilde: “the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Television isn’t going anywhere.
BAFTA is proud to play its part; celebrating the best of television; inspiring todays and tomorrow’s programme makers; and supporting people through a changing landscape. We do this through our community, learning programmes and talent initiatives, including Breakthrough and Elevate, together with our scholarships and bursaries.
Before I finish, my thanks go to Jane Millichip, BAFTA’s remarkable CEO, and the whole BAFTA team; to Hilary Rosen, BAFTA’s outstanding TV Committee Chair; and to the TV Committee, juries, chapters and voting members who give their time, knowledge and experience so generously.
And of course, our donors and partners who make tonight possible, including our headline sponsor, P&O Cruises, supporting us for the fourth time.
It’s a pleasure to have Greg Davies as our host this evening, bringing his trademark warmth and sharp sense of humour. I know you’ll give him a very warm welcome.
And to all our nominees — congratulations, and the very best of luck.
Thank you.
