The Oscars delivered a shock when Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor and now the British public might be responsible for one at the BAFTA TV Awards with a viral moment from celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, a chance to upset The Mandalorian and Bridgerton.
Key points:
- Nigella Lawson mispronouncing the word microwave has been nominated for a TV BAFTA
- Small Axe, The Crown and I May Destroy You received the most nominations
- This year’s nominations include changes following a diversity review
The BAFTA TV Awards are the British equivalent of Australia’s Logies.
While the BAFTAs honoured the finest of British film earlier this month, the BAFTA TV Awards will celebrate the best of the silver screen.
(Warning: This story contains spoilers for Bridgerton and The Mandalorian so continue at your own risk.)
Director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe, an anthology series about the lives of West Indian immigrants in London during the 60s, 70s and 80s, dominated with 15 nominations.
Supplied: BINGE/HBO
)Season four of The Crown follows closely behind with 10 nominations, including Best Drama Series and Leading Actor for Josh O’Connor’s portrayal of Prince Charles.
While the Golden Globes received backlash for snubbing the acclaimed I May Destroy You, it received eight BAFTA nominations, with the show’s creator Michaela Coel in the running for Leading Actress.
Normal People is up for seven awards, with leads Paul Mescal and Daisy Edger-Jones both nominated.
Australian comedian Adam Hills scored a nomination in the Entertainment Performance category for his show The Last Leg.
The microwave memes
Then there is the audience-voted ‘Must-See Moment’ category, which aims to highlight some of the most talked-about television moments in the past year.
And considering COVID-19 lockdowns had cinemas closed and subscriptions to streaming services soaring, there were more than enough moments to pick from.
Lawson scored a ‘Must-See Moment’ nomination after she pronounced microwave as “mee-cro-wah-vay” in her series Cook, Eat, Repeat.
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It was a slip of the tongue, but the memes came thick and fast and had some wondering if the word had always baffled the celebrity chef.
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Lawson poked fun at herself, but later clarified on Twitter “I do say it like that, but not because I think that’s how it’s actually pronounced”.
Nigella’s microwave moment is up against some stiff competition, with Penelope Featherington being revealed as Lady Whistledown during the Bridgerton finale also in the running for the people’s choice category.
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But Star Wars fans might sway the vote and argue the most jaw-dropping moment of the year was Luke Skywalker’s appearance in The Mandalorian.
Even actor Mark Hamill was overwhelmed with the audience’s response.
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Other nominations in the ‘Must-See Moment’ category include a Black Lives Matter-inspired dance routine on Britain’s Got Talent that received 24,500 complaints, with viewers claiming it was racist towards white people.
Changes to diversity standards
This year’s nominations include changes that came about after a seven-month review into the BAFTAs, part of a bid to increase diversity within the organisation.
The review, which made 120 changes, came in response to the lack of diversity in the 2020 BAFTA nominations, which featured all-white acting contenders and an all-male field for the category of Best Director.
Changes to this year’s awards include increasing the nominees in performance categories from four to six, while jury members received unconscious bias training, according to Deadline.
The review also sees broadcasters put forward a candidate from an under-represented group in the performance and craft categories.
The BAFTA TV Awards will be held on June 6.
