BAFTA TV Awards 2020: Nominations, host and when to watch the virtual ceremony
Tonight's the night, as the BAFTA TV Awards take place under unusual circumstances.
The 2020 BAFTA TV Awards are almost upon us - several months later than had originally been planned due to delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the later date and, though proceedings will unfold in rather a different fashion than usual, the night is expected to be packed with the usual glitz and glamour as a number of TV's finest are honoured for the best small-screen achievements on 2019.
It's fair to say that the list of BAFTA 2020 nominations is an especially strong line-up, and with an exciting line-up of talent presenting awards and a new virtual pre-show hosted by Tom Allen, the night looks set to be a good one.
Read on for everything you need to know about the 2020 BAFTA TV Awards, including who is presenting and what shows are up for awards.
When is the BAFTA TV Awards 2020 ceremony?
The ceremony, which was originally set to take place on 17th May, will now be hosted on Friday 31st July - with coverage of the event set to be broadcast live on BBC One.
There will be a BAFTAs pre-show on the same day, starting from 6pm, instead of a red carpet. Tom Allen will host it and will interview some of the nominees hoping to pick up an accolade on the night. These will include Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham, among others.
Tim Minchin will perform two songs from his hit Sky comedy, Upright.
Meanwhile, the BAFTA TV Craft Awards have already taken place -with that event having happened on Friday 17 July.
Who is hosting the BAFTA TV Awards 2020 ceremony?
This year, the event will be hosted by Richard Ayoade - the first time that the IT Crowd, Travel Man and Crystal Maze star has presented the award ceremony.
In a statement Ayoade joked, "I am as surprised as you are that this is still going ahead", while BAFTA Chief Executive Amanda Berry said, "I am thrilled that Richard Ayoade will be hosting the Television Awards for the first time."
In the past he has won one BAFTA - for The IT Crowd - and been nominated for a further two, once in the Film Awards, for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Submarine, and again for Travel Man, which was also nominated for Best Feature in the Television Awards in 2017.
And Ayoade is joined by a starry list of guest presenters, each of whom will be responsible for announcing the winner of one of the night's awards.
Some of those presenters will award the prizes from the studio including Adrian Lester, Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, Greg Davies, Himesh Patel, Jessica Hynes, Gangs of London’s Joe Cole and Sope Dirisu, Stacey Dooley and Nina Sosanya.
And others will announce winners virtually via videolink, with stars such as Billy Porter, Chris O’Dowd, David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Ruth Madeley, Jeff Goldblum and Muppets stars Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy presenting using this approach.
How will the BAFTA TV Awards 2020 ceremony work?
Of course, given the ongoing pandemic, the ceremony won't quite be going ahead in its usual format, complete with a red carpet and star-studded guest list.
Instead the ceremony will take place in a closed studio, with Ayoade presenting and the winners accepting their prizes virtually.
And there will also be a special pre-show in place of the usual red carpet coverage, with comedian Tom Allen hosting and featuring. interviews with nominees and celebrity guest presenters in studio and via video link-up. (Follow the link to find out how to watch BAFTA pre-show).
Who has been nominated for the BAFTA TV Awards 2020?
The full list of BAFTA TV 2020 nominations was announced on Thursday 4th June 2020, with Sky Atlantic’s miniseries Chernobyl leading the way with 14 nominations, including best miniseries, best leading actor for Jared Harris and best supporting actor for Stellan Skarsgard.
Other programmes to score impressive nomination hauls include Netflix's hit royal series The Crown with seven as well as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's critically acclaimed comedy series Fleabag and Joe Barton's crime epic Giri/Haji, both of which picked up six nominations.
If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide.
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
