Baftas 2019: How to watch this year's British Academy Film Awards

A Star is Born, The Favourite and Roma all expected to be honoured

With the Golden Globes done and dusted, this year’s awards season is in full swing and already providing upsets and controversy.

While the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody pulled off a shock Best Picture win at the Globes, it might have to make do with Outstanding British Film in London on a night when Olivia Colman and Christian Bale are widely-tipped to secure the top awards.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming ceremony.

When are the 2019 Baftas and how can I watch the ceremony?

The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 10 February at London’s Royal Albert Hall, a venue forever associated with Alfred Hitchock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) in the minds of film fans.

The event will be broadcast live on BBC One and The Independent‘s Culture team will cover it in its entirety on our site.

Who is hosting?

Joanna Lumley will return for a second stint behind the podium after impressing last year in place of Stephen Fry, tackling head-on the recent sexual harassment allegations against studio impresario Harvey Weinstein, which shook the industry.

Cirque de Soleil will also be back after delivering an acrobatic performance in 2018 in tribute to Guillermo del Toro’s amphibian romance The Shape of Water, for which the Mexican duly took home the Best Director prize.

Which films will be in contention for the top prizes?

Yorgos Lanthimos’s 18th-century period drama The Favourite emerged as the film to beat when the nominations were announced on 9 January, shortlisted in 12 categories in no small part thanks to its trio of strong central performances from Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.

Although it was largely snubbed at the Globes, Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga secured seven nominations, as did Bohemian Rhapsody, Roma and Damian Chazelle's First Man.

Little was initially expected of Bohemian Rhapsody but the film charting the rise of stadium rock band Queen in the 1970s overcame a troubled production to triumph at the box office and has continued to confound its critics.

Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma could be a serious contender for Best Film and its creator looks a good bet for Best Director.

First Man, a retelling of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, was hardly recognised by the Globes but appears to have found a second wind.

Bale could well repeat his win for Vice, in which he stars as George W Bush’s former right-hand man Dick Cheney from beneath layers of thick make-up. The Welsh actor thanked Satan for the inspiration in his Globes acceptance speech.

Adam McKay's satire received six Bafta nods, Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman was shortlisted in five categories and the likes of Beautiful Boy, Black Panther, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Cold War, Green Book, If Beale Street Could Talk, Stan and Ollie, Widows, The Wife and You Were Never Really Here all picked up nominations.

You can see the full list of Bafta 2019 nominations here.

Who will take home the Rising Star award?

Nominations were announced early for the Rising Star category, honouring emerging talent from the world of cinema.

Chosen by a panel including Rosamund Pike, Bodyguard's Richard Madden and broadcaster Edith Bowman, this year’s shortlist is comprised of Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, Sorry to Bother You’s Lakeith Stanfield, Barry Keoghan from American Animals, Widows actress Cynthia Erivo and Jessie Buckley, who starred in Beast and the BBC’s The Woman in White.

Previous winners in this category have included Tom Hardy, Daniel Kaluuya and Eva Green so it’s certainly one to watch.