The nominations for the 2021 British Academy Television Awards have been revealed, with Small Axe, The Crown and I May Destroy You leading the pack.
The BBC anthology series landed a total of 15 nominations after being praised by critics for its collection of tales focused around black British characters, and also included a nod for star John Boyega.
Also among this year’s contenders was the hit drama Normal People with seven nods, while I Hate Suzie followed close behind with five nominations.
Exciting: The nominations for the 2021 British Academy Television Awards have been revealed, with Small Axe (John Boyega pictured), The Crown and I May Destroy You leading the pack.
Small Axe, which was directed by Steve McQueen and landed a record 15 nominations including two nods in Leading Actor for stars John Boyega and Shaun Parkes, and one for Letitia Wright in Leading Actress.
As well as a nod in the Mini-Series category, both Michael Ward and Malachi Kirby earned nominations for Supporting Actor.
Small Axe earned a further nine nominations in the Craft categories, including Costume Design, Director: Fiction, Editing Fiction, Make-up & Hair Design, Production Design, Scripted Casting, and Writer: Drama.
The series presented five stories of how the community shaped their own destiny between the 1960s and 1980, despite the racism and discrimination they faced.
Wow! The Crown was close behind with ten nominations, including Drama Series and Leading Actor for Josh O’Connor (pictured) as Prince Charles
Acclaimed: Helen Bonham Carter is up for Supporting Actress for her performance as Princess Margaret, while Tobias Menzies (right) is nominated for Supporting Actor as Prince Philip
Praised: I May Destroy You landed eight nominations, including a nod for star Michaeal Coel for Leading Actress after the show was snubbed by the Golden Globes
The first episode in the series, titled Mangrove, focused on Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), the owner of Notting Hill’s Caribbean restaurant of the same name, who faced being thrown behind bars for protesting in 1970.
The final episode, Red, White and Blue, starred Star Wars actor John as a young forensic scientist who aspires to become a police officer in an attempt to change racist perceptions from inside the force.
In total The Crown landed four nominations in the TV categories; Drama Series, Leading Actor, Supporting Actor for Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip and Supporting Actress for Helen Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.
Lauded: Both Shaun Parkes (left) and Letitia Wright (right) earned nominations for their role in the first episode of Small Axe, titled Mangrove, which focused on the owners of the Notting Hill restaurant who faced prison for protesting in 1970
Turbulent: Normal People, which became a huge hit when it debuted at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown last year, landed a total of seven nods, including two for stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones
The series also earned a further six nods in the Craft categories, Costume Design, Director: Fiction, Editing Fiction, Make-up & Hair Design, Photography & Lighting: Fiction, Production Design, Scripted Casting, Sound: Fiction and Writer: Drama.
This year saw The Crown release its fourth series, focusing on Princess Diana’s turbulent marriage to husband Prince Charles.
I May Destroy You, which was praised for its story depicting a woman trying to rebuild her life after being assaulted on a night out, was recognised in the Mini-Series category.
Stars Michaela Coel, Paaapa Essiedu also landed nods for Leading Actress and Actor respectively, while Weruche Opia earned recognition in Supporting Actress.
The recognition will be welcome by many fans after the show was completely snubbed by the Golden Globe Awards, and also came away empty-handed from the Critics Choice Awards.
Important: I Hate Suzie landed five nominations including Drama Series and Leading Actress for its star Billie Piper (pictured) after also earning praise for its story of an actress whose life is thrown into turmoil when intimate images of her are leaked
Racy: Adult Material, which offered an alternative glimpse at the porn industry, earned five nominations, including the first ever BAFTA nod for star Rupert Everett
Normal People, which became a huge hit when it debuted at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown last year, landed a total of seven nods, including two for stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones who played the two Irish teens embroiled in a turbulent relationship.
After a hugely successful year for television in the midst of the Covid pandemic, both Leading Actor and Actress are set to be hotly contested categories.
John Boyega (Small Axe), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), Paapa Essiedu (I May Destory You), Paul Mescal (Normal People), Shaun Parkes (Small Axe) and Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central) are set to battle it out for Leading Actor.
Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People), Hayley Squires (Adult Material), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Leititia Wright (Small Axe) and Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) will go head-to-head in Leading Actress.
Gangs of London, I Hate Suzie, Save Me Too and The Crown were nominated for Drama Series, while Adult Material, I May Destroy You, Normal People and Small Axe are up for Mini-Series.
Tragic: Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter earned a posthumous nomination for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme after his death earlier this month
Kunal Nayyar (Criminal: UK), Malachi Kirby and Michael Ward (Small Axe), Michael Sheen (Quiz), Rupert Everett (Adult Material) and Tobias Menzies (The Crown) are up for Supporting Actor.
Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie), Rakie Ayola (Anthony), Siena Kelly (Adult Material), Sophie Okonedo (Criminal: UK) and Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You) are nominated for Supporting Actress.
Friday Night Dinner star Paul Ritter earned a posthumous nomination for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme after his death earlier this month, along with Charlie Cooper (This Country), Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen), Joseph Gilgun (Brassic), Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) and Reece Shearsmith (Inside No.9).
Female Performance in a Comedy Programme will see Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education), Daisy Haggard (Breeders), Daisy May Cooper (This Country), Emma Mackey (Sex Education), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam) and Mae Martin (Feel Good) battle it out for the coveted prize.
Only one! Michael Sheen is up for Supporting Actor for his transformation into the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Chris Tarrant in the ITV drama Quiz, based on the Charles Ingram scandal
Ghosts, Inside No.9, Man Like Mobeen and This Country have been nominated for Scripted Comedy, while Charlie Brooker’s Antiviral Wipe, Rob & Romesh, The Big Narstie Show and The Ranganation are up for Comedy Entertainment Programme.
With the absence of ITV staple Love Island last year, Race Across The World, The School That Tried to End Racism, Masterchef: The Professionals and The Write Offs are up for Reality and Constructed Factual.
As ever Casualty, Coronation Street, EastEnders and Hollyoaks will go head-to-head for Soap and Continuing Drama.
Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Life & Rhymes, Strictly Come Dancing and The Masked Singer are nominated for Entertainment Programme.
Exciting: This Country landed a total of four nominations, including Female and Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for Daisy May Cooper and her brother Charlie respectively
Stellar: Strictly Come Dancing also earned four nominations across the TV and Craft categories, including one for Entertainment Programme, after managing to make it onto screens despite the Covid crisis
Entertainment Performance sees a slew of big names battle it out for the coveted prize, including Adam Hills, Bradley Walsh, Claudia Winkleman, David Mitchell, Graham Norton and Romesh Ranganathan.
After his eye-opening programme on racism, Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me landed a nod for Single Documentary, along with American Murder: The Family Next Door, Locked In: Breaking The Silence and Surviving Covid.
It comes after the nominees for the 2021 Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards’ Must-See Moment prize were revealed on Tuesday.
Diversity’s controversial BLM-inspired dance, which sparked 24,500 complaints to Ofcom last year, was on the shortlist for the award, which is voted for by the public.
Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown shock twist that revealed Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) as the mysterious gossip also led the list of nominees.
Shortlist: It comes after the nominees for the 2021 Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards’ Must-See Moment prize were revealed on Tuesday, with Diversity’s controversial BLM-inspired dance making the shortlist
Other notable moments singled out for the gong include when Luke Skywalker appeared in the climax of The Mandalorian’s second season, helping its titular character and others while they stormed an Empire ship.
The shocking moment Chantelle (Jessica Plummer) was killed by her abusive husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith) on EastEnders also got a mention.
While Nigella Lawson’s amusing pronunciation of microwave as ‘meecro-wah-vey’ on her BBC2 cooking show Cook, Eat, Repeat was also nominated.
And the reactions of the Gogglebox cast to the press conference Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave after being hospitalised with coronavirus was also given a nod.
Drama: Bridgerton’s Lady Whistledown shock twist, which revealed Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan, pictured) as the mysterious gossip, was also on the shortlist
Shortlist: Diversity’s dance saw group leader Ashley have a white man’s knee leaning on his neck, in reference to the death of George Floyd, and sparked 24,500 complaints to Ofcom
Support: ITV ‘stood with Diversity’ last year and featured adverts in national newspapers in support of them, while Ofcom announced they would not investigate the complaints further
Encouraging: In October, Ashley admitted he has been encouraged to ramp up his Black Lives Matter campaign following the ‘hate’ he received over his Diversity routine
The nominees were chosen from a longlist based on audience viewing figures provided by BARB, social listening data from TalkWalker, and vigorous research to represent TV viewing across the country.
The final shortlist were then selected by an independent virtual jury of national media experts including TV critic Caitlin Moran, it was chaired by BAFTA Television Committee Chair Hannah Wyatt.
Of the nominees, Hannah said: ‘Television in 2020 showcased the importance of entertainment and demonstrated incredible craft, gripping scriptwriting and brilliant visual spectacles which captivated the British viewer.
‘From bringing nostalgic favourites back, to raising awareness about hugely important issues, the shows and moments nominated for Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment Award 2021 reflect our TV habits of the last year and perfectly celebrate the relationship between the TV viewers at home and the people who make it.
‘I can’t wait to see who the public choose to be their Virgin Media Must-See Moment winner, in what is sure to be a close contest.’
David Bouchier, Chief TV & Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, added in a statement: ‘2020 was a year like no other and great television was at the heart of every moment that kept the nation connected, entertained and informed.
‘Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment recognises the TV moments that played such a powerful role in all of our lives throughout the past year.
‘As households across the country stayed at home, TV became our main source of entertainment and distraction, with people turning to television more than ever before to tune into the latest news or catch up on the moment that everyone was talking about.’
Tragic: The shocking moment Chantelle (Jessica Plummer, left) was killed by her abusive husband Gray Atkins (Toby-Alexander Smith, right) on EastEnders also got a mention
Micro-what? Nigella Lawson’s amusing pronunciation of microwave as ‘meecro-wah-vey’ on her BBC2 cooking show Cook, Eat, Repeat was also nominated
David added: ‘We can’t wait to see who the public will crown the fifth winner of our Must-See Moment award.’
Diversity’s performance on the most recent series of Britain’s Got Talent received 24,500 Ofcom complaints, making it the most complained about TV moment of the year in 2020.
ITV ‘stood with Diversity’ as they featured adverts in national newspapers in support of the controversial dance while Ofcom announced they will not investigate the complaints any further.
Cameo: Other notable moments singled out for the gong include when Luke Skywalker appeared in the climax of The Mandalorian’s second season
The act saw group leader Ashley have a white man’s knee leaning on his neck, in reference to the death of black man George Floyd last year.
In October, Ashley admitted he had been encouraged to ramp up his Black Lives Matter campaign following the ‘hate’ he received over his Diversity routine, and he said he would perform the same routine ‘100 times over’.
He revealed that although the routine sparked backlash, it also started a dialogue which lasted weeks as he dubbed it one of the ‘most impactful conversation starters the country has ever seen’.
Voting for the category is open from April 27 at 8am until May 24 at 5pm, with the nominees all representing the most talked about moments of the year.
Comedian Richard Ayoade is set to return as host of the ceremony for a second year, and it will be a studio-based production being broadcast live.
The 2021 Virgin Media British Television Academy Awards will air on Sunday, June 6 on BBC One.
The reactions of the Gogglebox cast to the press conference Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave after being hospitalised with coronavirus was also given a nod (pictured Jenny and Lee)