David Tennant ‘delighted’ to be announced as Baftas 2024 host

Last year’s ceremony was hosted by Richard E Grant, alongwith Alison Hammond

David Tennant has been announced as the host of the 2024 Baftas ceremony to be held in London next month.

The Baftas will return to the Royal Festival Hall at London’s Southbank Centre on Sunday 18 February.

This year’s ceremony will mark the 52-year-old Doctor Who star’s first time hosting the prestigious awards show, which was presented by Richard E Grant and Alison Hammond last year.

Tennant’s other notable film and TV credits include Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Good Omens, and Broadchurch.

His theatre career has included a “compellingly intense” performance as Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse in London last year.

“Tennant makes a compelling Macbeth, all restrained, troubled intensity as he steps further and further into a swamp of bloodied ambition,” The Independent’s critic Alice Saville wrote in her three-star review of the show.

Tennant returned for his final run as the Time Lord in the BBC’s long-running Doctor Who last November, before passing the mantle to his successor, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa.

“You have to feel for Gatwa, who will have his work cut out when he takes over the Tardis,” writes Ed Power, in his four-star review of Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary special forThe Independent. “It will be like going on after Freddie Mercury at Glastonbury.

“Tennant captures the essence of the Doctor. He really does feel like a time-traversing alien trying to pass for a human, and it will be a daunting act to follow.”

Reacting to the announcement, the award-winning actor said: “I am delighted to have been asked to host the EE BAFTA Film Awards and help celebrate the very best of this year’s films and the many brilliant people who bring them to life.”

The chief executive of the Baftas, Jane Millichip said “we are over the moon” that Tennant will host the show.

David Tennant as the Doctor on BBC’s long-running show (James Pardon/BBC Studios)

Praising Tennant’s “warmth, charm, and mischievous wit”, she added: “He is deservedly beloved by British and international audiences, alike.”

The nominations for the 2024 Baftas will be announced by another Doctor Who castmate, Naomi Ackie.

Ackie and fellow, former Rising Star nominee Kingsley Ben-Adir (Peaky Blinders) will reveal the full list of nominations via a livestreamed event on Thursday 18 January at 12pm GMT.

Meanwhile, the Baftas 2024 Rising Star contenders, recognised as exciting new talent to watch, will be announced on Wednesday 10 January, during an event at the Savoy.

This is the only Bafta award that is decided by the British public. Voting opens on 10 January and closes on 16 February at 12pm.