Mr Loverman and Mr Bates Vs The Post Office win big at 2025 TV Baftas

And the 2025 Bafta TV Awards winners are… (Picture: PA/Getty/REX)

The TV Bafta Awards 2025 took over our screens tonight, with big wins going to the stars of smash hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer, LGBTQ+ drama Mr Loverman, and groundbreaking ITV show Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

Some of the biggest names in showbiz walked the red carpet tonight ahead of the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Airing on BBC One, this year’s spectacle was hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming and welcomed everyone from the cast of Gavin and Stacey to The Traitors to celebrate 12 months of spectacular television.

Among the big winners was Lennie James, who scooped the leading actor Bafta for his role playing Barrington Walker in Mr Loverman.

The actor admitted he had not ‘prepared anything’ for his speech, explaining: ‘(I) didn’t think this was coming my way.’

Mr Loverman aired on BBC, based on Bernardine Evaristo’s novel of the same name, about a man who contemplates leaving his wife for his male lover.

Lennie James was victorious as leading actor for his portrayal of Barrington Walker in Mr Loverman (Picture: John Phillips/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) Mr Loverman was a big winner tonight, with Ariyon Bakare taking home supporting actor (Picture: John Phillips/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta)

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James told Evaristo: ‘Thank you very much for trusting us with your characters.’

But that wasn’t the show’s only win of the night, as Ariyon Bakare won the best supporting actor gong for his role playing Morris De La Roux.

Accepting the trophy, Bakare said: ‘This award stands on the shoulders of those who came before me, those who might have been afraid to come out, to be who they want to be.’

As for the actress categories, the Bafta for leading actress was won by Industry’s Marisa Abela.

The 28-year-old said she booked the BBC series, about a group of young finance graduates, in her first year of drama school and said the part of Yasmin ‘changed [her] life.’

‘I’ve been filming Industry for about six years now, and (production company) Bad Wolf and HBO, the fact that they let us carry on after season 1 is mental,’ she told the audience.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office was a powerful drama that previously swept at the NTAs (Picture: John Phillips/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Ruth Jones collected her female comedy performance gong (Picture: John Phillips/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta)

Back to Black actress Abela beat Anna Maxwell Martin for true crime miniseries Until I Kill You, Lola Petticrew for historical Northern Irish drama Say Nothing, and Sharon D. Clarke for Mr Loverman.

She was also up against Monica Dolan for Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and Billie Piper for Netflix drama Scoop, about the Newsnight interview between Emily Maitlis and the Duke of York.

But that doesn’t mean Mr Bates Vs The Post Office went home empty-handed, as managing director of ITV Studios, Kevin Lygo, received the special award for commissioning the series, urging all TV corporations to continue making programmes to ‘make power to account’.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office also took home the limited drama trophy, with prodocer Patrick Spence saying they would never have been able to make the show without ITV, the journalists who covered the wrongful conviction of the subpostmasters punished due to the Horizon IT scandal, and the campaigners.

He said that people such as Sir Alan Bates ‘demanded action with such rage,’ and the airing of the drama proved that the public ‘cannot abide liars and bullies’.

Other victors tonight included Richard Gadd’s comedy-thriller series, which was based on his own real experiences with stalking. It smashed through streaming records and has already had a successful run through awards season, taking home the best limited series Emmy.

Jessica Gunning posed with Adolescence stars Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty after her big win (Picture: Scott Garfitt/Bafta via Getty Images) Danny Dyer took home the male comedy performance Bafta (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for P&O Cruises) Marisa Abela couldn’t hide her smile after winning the leading actress Bafta for playing Yasmin in Industry (Picture: Kate Green/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta)

However, it wasn’t just the show but specifically its cast members who collected trophies tonight, with Jessica Gunning earning the award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Martha.

In the series, the stalker hounds Donny (played by Gadd) with countless messages and emails after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.

Yorkshire-born Gunning beat her fellow Baby Reindeer star, trans actress Nava Mau, who played Donny’s girlfriend Teri.

When accepting her award, she looked at her trophy and said: ‘Hello, cheeky chops. Gosh, thank you, Bafta, wow,’ before joking that she used to pretend to be a dog in her garden.

‘I sometimes do this kind of cheesy thing where I look back on the younger me and moments in my life, and I imagine the kind of then me, seeing me now, and think, “Little did we know”,’ she said.

She said that last year, she and Gadd were at the ceremony, and they had no idea what ‘the year had in store’, thanking him for ‘changing [her] life’.

Scottish presenter Alan Cumming took charge of hosting duties this year (Picure: John Phillips/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta)

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Elsewhere, we had a handful of surprise victors tonight, as the Bafta reality prize went to Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial, beating the hit BBC psychological series The Traitors.

The entertainment programme Bafta gong was picked up by BBC panel comedy show Would I Lie To You?, hosted by Rob Brydon, which beat panelist Lee Mack’s The 1% Club.

On the comedy scene, there wasn’t a dry eye among the Gavin and Stacey cast as they watched with pride while Ruth Jones accepted her female performance trophy.

‘I’m not going to lie, this is immense,’ she said as she impersonated Nessa before adding sincerely: ‘The person I would like to thank most is my dear, dear, talented friend, James Corden.’

The camera then panned to James, who could not hold back his tears.

One category Gavin and Stacey was not triumphant in, however, was the viewer-voted memorable moment award, as this went to Strictly Come Dancing for their ‘blackout’ dance between Dianne Buswell and Chris McCausland.

Dianne Buswell accepted the viewer-voted memorable moment award for her Strictly waltz with Chris McCausland (Picture: John Phillips/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) Their ‘blackout’ performance had the nation bawling (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)

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Chris made history last year as the first-ever blind person to take part in Strictly, going on to win it with his Aussie pro.

Accepting the gong on behalf of them both, Dianne said: ‘In one minute and 30 seconds of a dance, I feel like this told such a story. A story of hope, determination, resilience and vulnerability, all in that one minute 30.’

Other wins of the night went to EastEnders for best soap, Blue Lights for best drama series, and former Newsnight presenter Kirsty Wark, who received a standing ovation as she collected her Bafta fellowship—the body’s highest accolade.

At the start of the night, as the glam event got underway, stars descended on the red carpet in their finery.

Broadcasting legend Graham Norton was among those leading arrivals, but sparked concern with his appearance.

Norton, 62, was as smiley as ever as he posed for photographers, but there was one accessory to his outfit that no one expected to see.

Irish broadcaster Graham Norton remained smiling despite an apparent injury (Picture: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for P&O Cruises) James Corden and Ruth Jones arrived in style to celebrate their Gavin and Stacey nomination (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) The full cast of the beloved sitcom reunited for the special occasion (Picture: Hogan/Hogan Media/Shutterstock) Adolescence stars Erin Doherty and Owen Cooper posed together after storming to success with the Netflix drama (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta)

The Irish talk show icon sported an all-black tux with a quirky collar but also wore his left arm in a black mesh sling.

It’s unknown what happened or whether Norton has suffered a nasty injury, as he hasn’t commented publicly.

However, thankfully, he’s not letting a little sling dampen his spirits, flashing his famous pearly whites for this year’s Baftas where The Graham Norton Show was recognised in the entertainment performance category, along with the likes of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

Speaking of Ant and Dec, the Geordie duo were their usual dapper selves in black tuxedos tonight, while Claudia opted for all black too, of course adding her signature dark eye makeup.

Elsewhere, the likes of comedy co-writers Corden and Jones stormed high-profile arrivals, having been nominated for the emotional finale of Gavin and Stacey, which aired on Christmas Day, in the memorable moment lineup.

The duo proved their friendship is still going strong long after wrapping filming as their characters Smithy and Nessa, standing beside one another, Corden in a tux and Jones in a satin blue gown.

Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash put on a united front, with the Loose Woman rewearing her 2022 wedding dress (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) Of course, no Claudia Winkleman look is complete without dramatic eye makeup (Picture: Kate Green/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) Ant and Dec were their usual dapper selves in black tuxes (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) Richard Gadd is the man of the night thanks to Baby Reindeer (Picture: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images) Rivals actress Emily Atack looked super stylish as she rocked the carpet in leather gloves (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta) David Tennant opted for a quirky suit, posing proudly alongside his wife, Georgia Moffett (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Bafta/Getty Images for Bafta)

Meanwhile, Adolescence child star Owen Cooper walked his first major carpet after rising to fame as 13-year-old Jamie in the Netflix four-parter.

Tipped for a bright future, he had co-actress Erin Doherty by his side for support ahead of presenting an award together.

Doctor Who legend and all-round good egg David Tennant put in a vibrant appearance in a quirky suit alongside his wife, Georgia, having hosted the film edition of the Baftas in February.

Emily Atack stunned in a white gown complete with black leather gloves, with her Disney+ show Rivals nominated for a whopping six gongs, including memorable moment, while Apple TV+ spy series Slow Horses, starring Oscar winner Gary Oldman, also got six nods.

Catch up with the 2025 TV Baftas on BBC iPlayer.

Full list of Bafta 2025 winners

Film - Conclave

Leading actress - Mikey Madison, Anora

Leading actor - Adrien Brody, The Brutalist

Director - Brady Corbet, The Brutalist

EE Rising star - David Jonsson, Alien: Romulus

Outstanding British film - Conclave

Make-up and hair - The Substance

Costume design - Wicked

Short animation - Wander To Wonder

Short film -  Rock, Paper, Scissors

Documentary - Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Supporting actor - Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain

Supporting actress - Zoe Saldana, Emilia Perez

Cinematography - The Brutalist

Casting - Sean Baker and Samantha Quan, Anora

Editing - Conclave

Adapted screenplay - Conclave

Original screenplay - A Real Pain

Original score - The Brutalist

Sound - Dune: Part Two

Film not in the English language - Emilia Perez

Production design - Wicked

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director, and producer - Rich Peppiatt (Kneecap)

Children's and family film - Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Special visual effects - Dune: Part Two

Animated film - Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl