TV Baftas 2023: who will win, and who should win
Frocks, cameras, action. Home-grown TV’s glitterati are about to don their best bib and tucker for the 69th British Academy Television Awards. Comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan will host the starry ceremony from London’s Royal Festival Hall this Sunday, broadcast at 7pm on BBC One.
A total of 27 golden mask gongs will be doled out, including a special award for historian David Olusoga and the viewer-voted Memorable Moment, for which Paddington taking tea with Queen Elizabeth II is surely a shoo-in. But who will scoop the other major prizes? And who actually deserves to? Here’s your handy guide to the runner and riders…
Drama Series
Will win: The Responder (BBC One)
First-time writer Tony Schumacher drew on his decade of night patrols around Merseyside for this raw, riveting thriller about a police officer coming apart at the seams.
Should win: Sherwood (BBC One)
Playwright James Graham’s richly rewarding ensemble drama blended an archery whodunit with a vivid exploration of a community still divided by the miners’ strike.
Also nominated: Bad Sisters (Apple TV+), Somewhere Boy (Channel 4)
Mini-Series
Will win: This is Going to Hurt (BBC One)
The blackly comic adaptation of Adam Kay’s medical memoir was heart-shattering and hilarious in equal measure.
Should win: The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (ITV1)
ITV dramas tend to be snobbishly overlooked but a win for this droll true-crime dramatisation would buck the trend. And why no nod for bold Western epic The English?
Also nominated: A Spy Among Friends (ITVX), Mood (BBC Three)
Single Drama
Will win: I Am Ruth (Channel 4)
It made for gruelling viewing but the film about social media’s impact on mental health, starring Kate Winslet and her daughter Mia Threapleton, is the sort of worthy fare that Bafta judges lap up.
Should win: Life and Death in the Warehouse (BBC Three)
This hard-hitting drama used the testimonies of real “warehouse pickers” to tell a devastating story about the exploited workers who facilitate our online shopping habit.
Also nominated: The House (Netflix)
Leading Actor
Will win: Ben Whishaw (This Is Going to Hurt) or Martin Freeman (The Responder)
Their critically acclaimed series scored six nominations apiece, so it looks like a straight scrap between Whishaw’s overworked doctor and Freeman’s frazzled copper for the win.
Should win: Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders)
A first-time nominee, surprisingly, but Murphy merits an honour for his searing swansong series as troubled Brummie gangster Tommy Shelby – a role he inhabited across a decade.
Also nominated: Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Taron Egerton (Black Bird), Chaske Spencer (The English)
Leading Actress
Will win: Maxine Peake (Anne)
A refreshingly mature shortlist with an average age of 50. Peake was gut-punchingly powerful as Anne Williams, who spent 23 years campaigning for victims of the Hillsborough disaster, including her own teenage son Kevin.
Should win: Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie Too)
Kate Winslet’s star power could propel her to victory but Piper’s taboo-busting tour de force was better. Sarah Lancashire will win next year for Happy Valley. We’d also like to have seen Emily Blunt recognised for The English.
Also nominated: Imelda Staunton (The Crown), Kate Winslet (I Am Ruth), Sarah Lancashire (Julia), Vicky McClure (Without Sin)
Male Comedy Performance
Will win: Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?)
Playing lippy schoolboy Ollie, the gifted 14-year-old stole scenes with ease. Expect a Bafta to join his National Comedy Award and RTS Award on the Rush family mantelpiece.
Should win: Jon Pointing (Big Boys)
A star-making turn from Pointing as laddish fresher student Danny, who hid his mental health struggles behind swagger and banter.
Also nominated: Daniel Radcliffe (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), Joseph Gilgun (Brassic), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Stephen Merchant (The Outlaws)
Female Comedy Performance
Will win: Daisy May Cooper (Am I Being Unreasonable?)
She won a clutch of Baftas for previous creation This Country. Now Cooper is tipped to add to her collection for this startlingly original tragicomedy.
Should win: Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls)
Catch yourself on. A Bafta would be a fitting send-off for McSweeney’s mighty turn as sardonic nun Sister Michael.
Also nominated: Diane Morgan (Cunk on Earth), Lucy Beaumont (Meet the Richardsons), Natasia Demetriou (Ellie & Natasia), Taj Atwal (Hullraisers)
Scripted Comedy
Will win: Derry Girls (Channel 4)
The emotional final series of Lisa McGee’s coming-of-age classic stuck the landing beautifully, with flashbacks and A-list cameos. It interwove the personal and the political with aplomb.
Should win: Big Boys (Channel 4)
Jack Rooke broke our hearts and tickled our funny bones with his adorable autobiographical campus comedy.
Also nominated: Am I Being Unreasonable? (BBC One), Ghosts (BBC One)
International
Will win: The White Lotus (Sky Atlantic)
The swanky resort satire looks a cert, largely thanks to Jennifer Coolidge’s meme-spawning performance. Yet the Sicily-set second series never quite lived up to its debut run.
Should win: The Bear (Disney+)
The intense, dazzling drama about a bereaved Chicago chef was superior to The White Lotus. So was South Korean dynastic saga Pachinko.
Also nominated: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix), Wednesday (Netflix), Oussekine (Itineraire), Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Supporting Actor
Will win: Samuel Bottomley (Somewhere Boy)
This coming-of-age gem deserves something for its sheer originality. Bottomley’s nuanced turn as awkward misfit Aaron looks like its best bet.
Should win: Adeel Akhtar (Sherwood)
He was hugely poignant as a grieving train driver. Bad Sisters’ Claes Bang and Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn also merited a mention.
Also nominated: Jack Lowden (Slow Horses), Josh Finan (The Responder), Salim Daw (The Crown), Will Sharpe (The White Lotus)
Supporting Actress
Will win: Lesley Manville (Sherwood) or Anne-Marie Duff (Bad Sisters)
A strong field makes this tough to call but stalwart performers Manville or Duff might edge it, partly thanks to their acclaimed back catalogues.
Should win: Adelayo Adedayo (The Responder)
Truly terrific as a principled probationary officer. Jasmine Jobson would also be a worthy winner but where is the nomination for the brilliant Ambika Mod from This Is Going To Hurt?
Also nominated: Fiona Shaw (Andor), Jasmine Jobson (Top Boy), Saffron Hocking (Top Boy)
The British Academy Television Awards will be shown at 7pm on Sunday on BBC One
