The clear winners at tonight’s Bafta TV Awards vs who should win

From Mr Bates vs The Post Office to Baby Reindeer and The Traitors, the quality of television is the strongest it’s been in years.

Tonight, the giants of the last year in TV will be going head-to-head for the most prestigious prize in the industry at the TV Baftas at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Alan Cumming takes the reins, bringing his vivacious flair to the ceremony after replacing comedic chums Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan as host for the first time.

Television has never felt more important and more powerful than it has in the last year and there are countless shows worthy of a Bafta.

But who will actually take one home tonight? And perhaps more importantly, who should have taken one home instead?

Here is what Metro predicts will happen – and what we want to happen.

Drama series Damian Lewis stars as the bloody Henry VIII in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (Picture: Nick Briggs/BBC/PA Wire) Will win: Wolf Hall Join Metro's The Traitors community on WhatsApp

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Almost a decade passed between the first and second series of Wolf Hall, finally completing the magnificent TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels and its return in November 2024 was widely hailed as a true masterpiece.

Even with a cast that boasts Oscar-winner Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis and Jonathan Pryce, rarely, if ever, will you find a greater performance from all three. During its 10 year absence, Wolf Hall was highly regarded as one of the best dramas of all-time so inevitably it will scoop the top drama gong of the night.

Should win: Blue Lights

Where Wolf Hall deserves all the accolades for its top performances and spectacular story-telling, honestly, I never found more fun in a drama than in Blue Lights. Is it a Bafta winner? Not yet, maybe, but it has all the promise to be as popular as Line of Duty and I trust we’ll get a much more satisfying pay-off in the end. Regardless, it’s my Bafta dinner for pure entertainment which truth be told I found little of in Wolf Hall.

Limited Drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office will no doubt clean up at tonight’s TV Baftas (Picture: ITV) Will win: Mr Bates

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office signified a turning point in television, following the criminally under-reported Post Office scandal which saw countless workers accused of stealing money, with some jailed or bankrupted while others died by suicide.

It was a reminder of the power of television to change the course of history, which it did almost overnight. The ITV drama premiered on New Year’s Day and within a week it was being debated in parliament, staff who spent decades with a criminal record were exonerated and now are starting to receive payment for the money and their reputation lost.

It will quite rightly be remembered for decades to come as one of the most important dramas of all-time – its Bafta is a no-brainer.

Should win: Baby Reindeer

If Baby Reindeer had been released any other year, it would easily take the Bafta for Limited Drama but nothing will ever compete with the impact of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.

I respect that, but when it comes to powerful and unique story-telling, Baby Reindeer was game-changing television that captured the zeitgeist for months around the world and put the magic of British television back on the map internationally.

Lead actress Monica Dolan was sensational in Mr Bates (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock) Will win: Monica Dolan

I can’t imagine Mr Bates Vs The Post Office losing any of its categories tonight, with the exception of one (we’ll get there later) but one of, if not the, standout performances of the entire series was Monica Dolan as desperate post office worker Jo Hamilton. It’s unimaginable to comprehend the despair of victims of the Post Office scandal like Jo but Monica carried that torture which made watching the series so powerful.

Should win: Anna Maxwell-Martin

I stumbled on Until I Kill You on my sick bed and binged the entire four episodes in one go, partly because of the story of Delia, a woman let down by the police and haunted by her dangerous ex and in part because of Anna Maxwell-Martin’s portrayal of a survivor’s endless suffering.

When I think back on the best performance alone over the last 12 months, immediately it’s this, across every genre in television.

Leading Actor Richard Gadd’s performance in Baby Reindeer will be talked about for years and years to come (Picture: AP) Will win: Toby Jones

Not to sound like a broken record but Mr Bates vs The Post Office will clean up and Toby Jones winning the Bafta for leading actor is one of the safest bets of the night. In a career spanning almost 40 years, Jones has become of the most celebrated British actors of all time but no more so than after his performance as Alan Bates, the hero who spearheaded the campaign to get justice for his fellow postal workers whose lives had been ruined.

Should win: Richard Gadd

Richard Gadd’s performance as Donny, a fictionalised version of himself, took more guts and vulnerability than any performance I can remember.

Baby Reindeer was a biographical drama about his own stalker hell and sexual assault, which Gadd reenacted for the Netflix thriller. It was that bravery and honesty (unless you ask Fiona Harvey) that made Baby Reindeer such a defining moment.

Female performance in Comedy Sophie Willan deserves every award possible for Alma’s Not Normal (Picture: BBC/Expectation TV/Ben Blackall) Will win: Sophie Willan

Ruth Jones as Ness in Gavin and Stacey would win the public vote with a landslide but Sophie Willan’s fanbase is fiercely passionate and loyal and conveniently among said fanbase is Bafta. She’s already won two Baftas including one for the first series of Alma’s Not Normal.

The comedy-drama is loosely based on Sophie’s own experience growing up in the care system and is as bold as it is blisteringly funny, all thanks to Sophie’s unbeatable observational comedy, warmth and vulnerability.

Should win: Sophie Willan

I can’t think of a single comedy performance of the last decade that would be more worthy of winning the best female in a comedy than Sophie.

Male performance in Comedy After the year Danny Dyer’s had he deserves a Bafta at the very least (Picture: Sky) Will win: Danny Dyer

Admittedly it’s not the strongest category of the night but Danny Dyer has had a remarkable year where his acting chops are finally getting the recognition they deserve. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins the Bafta for Sky Comedy Mr Bigstuff riding off the back of a spectacular year rather than because of this performance alone but regardless, it’s a worthy win.

Should win: Danny Dyer

It’s a close call for best male comedy performance but none have really set the world alight. This feels like Danny’s to lose and the year he’s had it seems fitting to mark it with a Bafta.

Supporting Actor Jonathan Pryce was arguably even more impressive than Gary Oldman in the last Slow Horses (Picture: AP) Will win: Damian Lewis

Everything Damian Lewis touches turns to gold, but Wolf Hall is possibly the moment he’ll always be celebrated most for. It takes a brave man to walk in the shoes of Henry VIII and few could, but Lewis walked them so perfectly I can’t imagine anyone will be brave enough to follow in his footsteps to play the bloody monarch ever again

Should win: Jonathan Pryce

Slow Horses deserves to sweep the board tonight and if Baby Reindeer and Mr Bates Vs The Post Office hadn’t both been released this year, it probably would have. If there is a chance of picking up a prize tonight, it could actually be in Supporting Actor with Jonathan Pryce.

Pryce stars as River Cartwright’s grandfather David aka ‘the Old Bastard’ who spoiler alert is declining with dementia. Gary Oldman has long been the standout performance of Slow Horses for four seasons but Pryce was challenged more than anyone else in this last chapter and was genuinely harrowing to watch.

Supporting actress Jessica Gunning gave the performance of the decade in Baby Reindeer (Picture: Ed Miller/Netflix) Will win: Jessica Gunning

By far one of the most memorable performances across film and television in years, Jessica Gunning was so unbelievably convincing as stalker Martha people couldn’t believe she wasn’t real. She’s won pretty much every major accolade she’s been nominated for and if Baby Reindeer does pick up a Bafta tonight it will undoubtedly be for Gunning, even if I personally feel it should win all of its categories.

Should win: Jessica Gunning

Richard Gadd has rightly taken most of the glory for Baby Reindeer. It was his story, his script and Baby Reindeer was a phenomenon that took the world by storm making stars out of its two leading names overnight.

Gunning, however, was absolutely terrifying as Martha, and once we got to know the real Gunning it made the transformation into Martha all the more astonishing. If she doesn’t win this Bafta to add to her bulging trophy cabinet, it will be the biggest crime of the night.

Entertainment performance Claudia Winkleman makes The Traitors the greatest show on television (Picture: BBC) Will win: Claudia Winkleman

The Traitors is the single most entertaining television in years and its second series was The Traitors at its best. Claudia Winkleman is so perfect for The Traitors there is quite literally no one else that could ever make that show more magical than it is with her at the helm. Never has anyone loved the show they’re presenting more since Davina McCall on Big Brother and there is no way anyone else could possibly compete.

Should win: Claudia Winkleman

In just over two years since Claudia began presenting The Traitors, she has become a true icon of television. It’s almost as though she’s been waiting her whole career for this moment, and finally after years of hard graft she is officially the most powerful presenter in television bar none. The Traitors has countless versions all over the world but there is none as gripping as the UK version and so much of that is because of Claudia.

Scripted comedy Sophie Willan will easily add another two Baftas to her collection tonight (Picture: BBC) Will win: Alma’s Not Normal

Alma’s Not Normal is some of the most ground-breaking television in years.

When comedy has struggled more than any other genre, Sophie Willan’s semi-autobiographical six-part series was a powerful reminder of why comedy should be held in the same esteem as drama and big-budget telly.

With a panel made up of critics and industry experts, Alma’s Not Normal will no doubt be acknowledged for the impact it’s already has on comedy in just two series.

Should win: Alma’s Not Normal

I can’t think of anything else that was more moving, more real and more hysterical than Alma’s Not Normal. It’s packed with so much heart and so many laughs, but it’s such a punchy commentary on the care system which has ben in terminal decline since the Conservative Party introduced austerity. It achieves so much, particularly for a comedy, in just two series, 12 episodes in total, and should be compulsory viewing.

Reality Television simply doesn’t get better than The Traitors (Picture: BBC) Will win: The Traitors

Reality television is still fighting to be held in the same esteem as any other genre but this category is one of the strongest of the night and proves that Britain should be celebrated for its calibre of reality TV. Love Is Blind UK was a surprising standout but there just hasn’t been a moment in television that can remotely compare to The Traitors.

Should win: The Traitors

The Traitors is the single best show on television and its second series was in another league to anything else that aired over the last 12 months.

From the extraordinary cast to twists that had the entire nation gripped, The Traitors has restored faith in linear television and genuinely brought together a divided country that can’t agree on anything other than ‘Fizzy Rose’ Diane is mother.

P&O Cruises memorable moment Gavin and Stacey was the biggest TV moment in years (Picture: BBC) Will win: Gavin and Stacey The Finale: Smithy’s wedding when Mick stands up

The only show that could possibly beat The Traitors in a public vote is Gavin and Stacey which returned for its final ever episode on Christmas Day and broke every record going.

Whether you’re a fan or not, there is something special about the entire country being united on Christmas Day to find out if Smithy said ‘yes’ to Nessa, only to watch in horror as he geared up to marry the wrong woman.

Gavin and Stacey reached almost 20 million viewers which is completely unheard of in modern television. When it comes to the public vote, it will be unstoppable.

Should win: Traitors: ‘Paul isn’t my son… but Ross is!’

Three episodes into The Traitors, Diane quite literally dropped the mother of all bombshells.

Just as we’ve settled into the new series, felt like we’ve got to know the new cast after being completely enamoured by the cast of series one, Diane uttered three words which shook the nation: ‘But Ross is…’

Diane revealing that she secretly mothered a rival contestant wasn’t just a great rug pull, it had never been achieved in television before.

Reality television is salivating TV because as a viewer you are privy to all the information and you’re on tenterhooks waiting to see it come out. For us, the viewer, to be given the blow like we were also contestants kept in that dark was a stock of genius which I don’t think can ever be topped.

The Bafta TV Awards air tonight from 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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