BBC removes a few of David Tennant’s Donald Trump jokes from Baftas broadcast

Other jokes aimed at the US president did make the cut

The BBC removed some of David Tennant’s jokes about Donald Trump from its Bafta broadcast.

Hollywood’s brightest stars arrived at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (16 February) for an evening celebrating the year’s best films.

Having hosted last year’s awards show, Tennant returned for a second stint as presenter – opening the ceremony with a big musical number with some help from famous faces in the crowd such as James McAvoy and Selena Gomez.

The coverage – which started at 7pm, two hours after the awards began – is edited down to a two-hour length, meaning that some of the event must be trimmed down for time.

Notably, some of Tennant’s material about the US president was left on the cutting room floor.

In the live show, as reported by Deadline, the Doctor Who star joked that it was unlikely Trump had seen The Apprentice – in which Sebastian Stan plays a young version of the businessman – because “it’s a 15 [the film’s UK rating] and it’s not on Nickelodeon.”

He added: “Donald Trump. I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice – I have summoned him.”

A BBC spokesperson told The Independent: “The nature of the show is that it’s broadcast with a short delay, and edits have to be made due to time constraints.”

David Tennant on stage at the 2025 Baftas (BBC)

One joke that did make it into the broadcast, however, was about the politician’s hair, with Tennant calling it “the boldest architecture” in film – even more so than The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody as a visionary architect.

He also referred to Trump as a villain, comparing him to “Nosferatu, Hugh Grant in Heretic, and most chilling of all, [Wallace and Gromit antagonist] Feather McGraw” in a moment that seemed to delight Mark Hamill and Kate Winslet in the audience.

Prior to that, the Good Omens star kicked off proceedings with a rambunctious performance of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Pretenders, with appearances from James McAvoy, Anna Kendrick, Selena Gomez, and Colman Domingo, all of whom chimed in from their auditorium seats.

Elsewhere during the awards show, Warwick Davis left viewers at home in tears with his emotional tribute to his late wife.

It was a big night for Conclave, which claimed the Best Film award having also bagged the prize for Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.

The Brutalist won four awards including Best Actor and Best Director for Adrien Brody and Brady Corbet respectively. Best Supporting Actress went to Zoe Saldaña for her role in Emilia Pérez, while Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain.

The Independent listed the winners live as they were revealed, hours before the televised broadcast began on BBC One at 7pm. See the full list of winners here.