Joe Lycett attends Bafta TV Awards dressed as Queen Elizabeth I after losing bet

Comedian made good of his promise to attend ceremony as Tudor monarch

The Bafta TV Awards were attended by the majority of its nominees – including Joe Lycett dressed as Queen Elizabeth I.

Those attending the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall included David Tennant, who was nominated for Prime Video series Good Omens, Lesley Manville, a nominee for Netflix drama The Crown, and Succession’s Brian Cox.

The Crown and Black Mirror led this year’s nominations, with eight and seven nominations apiece, but it was Top Boy and Happy Valley that reigned supreme in an evening that featured a powerful speech by Sixth Commandment actor Timothy Spall and some apparent tension between two ITV stars.

Also in attendance were Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum and Hannah Waddingham, weeks after she sharply rebuked a photographer at the Olivier Awards. Meanwhile, several contestants from the latest series of The Traitors walked the red carpet in what they described to BBC News as a “pinch me” moment.

But it was Lycett who stole the show thanks to his attire; the comedian, who beat Ant and Dec, Graham Norton and former Eurovision host Waddingham in the Best Entertainment Performance category for Channel 4 series Late Night Lycett, was dressed as the Tudor monarch after losing a bet.

In the last few weeks, the comedian, who has become increasingly known for his political pranks and viral hijinks, has been updating his fans on the status of a promise he made with his two aunties ahead of the awards ceremony.

Joe Lycett walks Baftas red carpet as Queen Elizabeth I (David Fisher/Shutterstock)

Lycett said that, if his aunties Margaret and Pauline managed to amass 200,000 followers on Instagram by a certain date, he would attend the TV Baftas dressed as the Tudor monarch.

Margaret and Pauline reached the goal – and on Sunday (12 May), Lycett walked the red carpet with a lavish dress and dyed red hair.

If they had reached 250,000 followers by the day of the event, EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy, who is friends with Lycett. said she would walk the red carpet alongside the comedian as his “lady-in-waiting”.

Ant and Dec at the Bafta TV Awards (Getty Images)

At the time of writing, the aunties were just two thousand shy of this figure, with their follower count sitting at 2480,000.

Ahead of the ceremony, Lycett shared a photo of himself dressed as Queen Elizabeth I on Instagram alongside a portrait of the actual Queen Elizabeth I, asking: “Who wore it best?”

Bafta called the outfit “incredible”, with Lorraine Kelly writing: “You are very very silly – keep up the good work.”

Hannah Waddingham at the Bafta TV Awards (Getty Images)

Radio 1 DJ Greg James, referencing the 25-degree heat, commented: “Perfect weather for it!”