Baftas 2024 - as it happened: Oppenheimer wins big at star-studded movie awards ceremony
Host David Tennant led the high-profile event honouring the best films, actors and directors of the past year
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey
Get our The Life Cinematic email for free
The Baftas 2024 have taken place, with the biggest film stars in the world in attendance at a ceremony that honoured the best movies and actors of the last year.
Hollywood actors, including Emma Stone, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, were present at the ceremony, which took place at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (18 February).
The winners were named exactly one month after the nominated films, actors, directors and writers were revealed by former EE Rising Star nominees Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir during a live press conference.
This year’s Baftas, which aired on BBC One, were presented by actor David Tennant. This marked the Scottish actor’s first TV appearance since returning for a series of Doctor Who specials in 2023.
Films in contention at this year’s ceremony included Oppenheimer, which swept the board at both the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this month, as well as its rival blockbuster Barbie, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Poor Things, starring Stone.
Find all of the Bafta 2024 updates – as they happened – below
ICYMI... here’s all the biggest talking points from the 2024 Baftas
Oppenheimer wins big at the Baftas – as Christopher Nolan takes home first-ever prize
Poor Things star Emma Stone and Oppenheimer’s Cillian Murphy won this year’s big acting gongs
Hello! Welcome to our Baftas 2024 live blog, which will provide you movie lovers with all the updates you need ahead of this year’s ceremony.
Who is nominated at the 2024 Baftas?
This year’s Bafta nominations were announced on 18 January by former EE Rising Star nominees Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir during a live press conference.
Leading this year’s pack are Oppenheimer and Poor Things – but you can find the full list of everything in contention below.
The full list of Bafta 2024 nominations
All the films, actors and directors in contention for trophies have been revealed
Who is hosting the Baftas?
After what was considered a disastrous presenting slot for Richard E Grant and Alison Hammond in 2023, Bafta has gone with what could be perceived to be a safe pair of hands for the 2024 ceremony: the likeable David Tennant.
The Doctor Who star said he was “honoured” to have been asked and, in an interview with The Guardian on Friday (16 February), said of the impending ceremony: I don’t currently feel particularly challenged because everything’s written down for me and I don’t have to worry about winning – or not winning – an award.
Describing the opportunity as “liberating”, Tennant added: “Who knows why they asked me; I must have been pretty far down the list. Expectations are pretty much zero. I don’t have anything to prove.”
David Tennant hails ‘honour’ of being selected as 2024 Baftas host
David Tennant has spoken of the "honour" of being selected as the host for the 2024 Baftas. The Doctor Who actor, 52, follows in the footsteps of Richard E Grant and Alison Hammond. Tennant will host the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre on Sunday 18 February. "How exciting to be celebrating this amazing year of film and some of the incredible individuals who've helped make those films," he said in a video released on Bafta's TikTok page.
How and when can you watch this year’s ceremony?
The Bafta awards won’t be televised live, and will start around 4pm on Sunday (16 February).
But there will be red carpet coverage – and, of course, an edited version will be shown on Sunday evening.
Find all the details about how you can watch all the Baftas coverage here.
Which A-listers will be at the Baftas?
Bafta has provided a glimpse behind the curtain, revealing which Hollywood stars will be in attendance at this year’s ceremony.
A behind-the-scenes photo shared on the organisation’s official Twitter page shows off the seating arrangement for Sunday’s ceremony.
Sat on the front row alongside one another will be Cate Blanchett, Ayo Edebiri, Cillian Murphy, Emma Stone, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Margot Robbie.
Scattered behind them will be, among others, Greta Gerwig, Emily Blunt,Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Rye Lane nominee Vivian Oparah, Paul Mescal and Carey Mulligan.
Meanwhile, other stars who'll be present include Christopher Nolan, Rosamund Pike, Hugh Grant, singer Dua Lipa – and, for good measure, David Beckham.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor will perform her 24-year-old track
To all those in attendance, as well as those enjoying the broadcast/live stream, prepare to get your dancing shoes on.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be performing her 24-year-old track “Murder on the Dancefloor”.
The British singer-songwriter’s 2002 song saw a resurgence in popularity after it was featured in Emerald Fennell’s incredibly divisive comedy thriller Saltburn.
In an interview last month with The Independent, Ellis-Bextor reacted to the renewed love for her song.
“It’s been pretty wild actually, but I’m definitely here for it,” she said. “I’ve always loved the fact that I’m not really in control of what happens to me and my music for a lot of the time, and I’ve always just been open to these new adventures and seeing what can happen.”
Sophie Ellis-Bextor on failures, big families and love: ‘I’ve had it all taken away. It sucks. This is better’
Read The Independent’s interview with the “Murder on the Dancefloor” hitmaker:
The singer, who brought the world joy with her Kitchen Discos in lockdown, tells Ellie Harrison about the heady turn of the millennium and her dreamy new record, ‘Hana’
Biggest Baftas records that could be broken this year
With the help of BonusCodeBets.co.uk, here are some of the biggest Baftas records that could be broken this year:
Sandra Hüller could win in two major acting categories for two different roles in two different films!
The 45-year-old German actor has landed two Bafta nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role for her powerful and stunning performance in the Oscar-nominated courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall as well as Best Actress in a Support Role for her performance in the Oscar-nominated historical drama The Zone of Interest.
Should she win both categories, Hüller would achieve a feat that’s never been done in the history of the Baftas.
Women of Colour could make history
In the whole (77-year) history of the Baftas, no person of colour has ever won Best Actress in a Leading Role.
However, if The Color Purple’s Fantasia Barrino or Rye Lane’s Vivian Oparah wins the trophy, they could make history. They are up against Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Carey Mulligan (Maestro), Margot Robbie (Barbie), and Emma Stone (Poor Things).
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments