British Academy Television Awards: Who will reign at the BAFTAS?

It should be a memorable evening for Jack Lowden, the actor whose spy comedy-drama Slow Horses and fact-based Brink’s-Mat robbery drama The Gold are going head-to-head for the coveted Best Drama Series in this year’s Bafta TV Awards.

Both will have stiff competition, however, as they are up against the excellent and universally acclaimed third and final series of Sally Wainwright’s crime drama Happy Valley, as well as the fifth and final season of the Hackney-set crime drama Top Boy.

The Slow Horses crew meanwhile have reason to celebrate already – their wins in the categories of Best Editing in a Fiction and Best Sound in a Fiction have already been announced. And Lowden himself is up for Supporting Actor for his work on Slow Horses, although a case could be made that his is the main character (Gary Oldman’s crude spymaster Jackson Lamb may steal every scene he’s in, but Lowden’s competent if inexperienced River Cartwright is arguably the central figure).

The Leading Actor title is contested by Brian Cox (Succession), Dominic West (The Crown), Kane Robinson (Top Boy), Paapa Essiedu (The Lazarus Project) and Steve Coogan (The Reckoning), making it a tightly packed field, while Leading Actress will go to one of either Anjana Hasan (Black Mirror: Demon ’79), Anne Reid (The Sixth Commandment), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us), Helena Bonham Carter (Nolly), Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley) or Sharon Horgan (Best Interests). A similarly tough one to call although Ramsay’s performance in Time (nominated for Editing and Casting) may count in her favour.

Safe to say it has been an amazing year for drama. Television in general, in fact: the Best Entertainment category reminds us that we have enjoyed Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, as well as the usual suspects: Strictly, Michael McIntyre, Jools Holland. Meanwhile Factual Entertainment includes Celebrity Race Across the World and Endurance: Race to the Pole (a theme emerges) while Factual Series includes such fascinating stories as Dublin Narcos, Lockerbie and Once upon a Time in Northern Ireland.

The International category sees hit Disney+ series The Bear compete against Netflix’s Beef and Class Act, Sky/HBO’s The Last of Us and Succession, and Love & Death from Lionsgate and found on ITVX.

And while the past year has been notable for the return of Big Brother, that grandfather of all reality TV shows failed to make the cut in the Reality nominations – instead Banged Up, Married at First Sight, My Mum Your Dad and Squid Game: The Challenge all fight it out. But which three will be eliminated before one is crowned King or Queen of the Baftas?

For online viewers, Michelle Visage and Tom Allen will be live on BAFTA’s social media channels @BAFTA on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok from 2.45-3.45pm, presenting as they chat to all the stars from the red carpet as they arrive.

The main event is hosted by Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, a pair whose natural comedy connection has seen them undertake all sorts of adventures for various TV shows – trying everything from K-Pop to Crufts – and if anyone knows what it takes to make good television, it’s this pair.