Mr. Bates Vs The Post Office Delivers An Early Win For ITV While Jessica Gunning And Ruth Jones Claim Their Own Accolades For Baby Reindeer And Gavin & Stacey At The TV BAFTA Awards

After winning just about everything else, there was an inevitability about Mr. Bates vs The Post Office claiming the accolades as the annual TV BAFTA Awards got underway on Sunday evening.

But it wasn’t alone, with Netflix smash Baby Reindeer and the climactic Gavin & Stacey Christmas special also winning key awards in front of a full house at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Widely expected to claim much of Sunday evening’s spotlight, the groundbreaking ITV series got off to an auspicious start by claiming the award for Limited Drama.

Accepting the gong from Russell Tovey and Daniel Mays, producer Patrick Spencer said: ‘We could only film this because Polly Hill at ITV saved us from getting cancelled and this story only had the impact it did because the people who watched it stood up as one and demanded action with such rage, that the government had no choice but to respond.

‘Our show didn’t change the law, the people of this nation did. They showed in their response to Mr. Bates vs The Post Office that our country cannot abide liars and bullies.’

He added: ‘May it be a warning to those who are supposed to have our backs, that they better not abuse their power.

‘When accepting this award, we would like to go on record that being trusted by the post-masters to tell their story has been the greatest privilege of our lives.’

ITV went on to claim a Special Award, presented by Baroness Floella Benjamin – for its work in commissioning Mr. Bates vs The Post Office.

Urging Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government to rush through arranged compensation payments, ITV boss Kevin Lygo said: ‘Hurry up and pay these people what they are due.’

More than 700 subpostmasters were prosecuted by the Government-owned organisation and handed criminal convictions between 1999 and 2015 as Fujitsu’s faulty Horizon system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.

Former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates, who was onstage to collect the award on Sunday evening, had his contract terminated by the Post Office in 2003 after refusing to accept liability for shortfalls in the accounts at his branch in Llandudno, North Wales.

A 2024 inquiry heard he first raised issues with the Horizon system in 2000, and on one day in December of that year he called the Post Office helpline seven times, with one call lasting around an hour.

The night began with Jessica Gunning collecting the award for Best Actress after winning accolades for her portrayal of crazed stalker Martha in Richard Gatt’s hugely successful Netflix drama Baby Reindeer.

Presented to Gunning by Adolescence stars Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty, the win served as a curtain-raiser for an event in which major TV networks will hope to outmuscle rival streaming services in the battle for public affection.

But while her award was expected, Danny Dyer served up an early surprise by winning Male Performance in a Comedy for his starring role in Sky Comedy show Mr. Bigstuff.

Evidently delighted, Dyer credited his family – among them Love Island star daughter Dani – in a profanity-laden acceptance speech that broke ITV’s strict watershed.

‘What a touch!’ he told the audience. ‘The acting was so bad it was funny. F***ing hell. Girls, Donny and Dani… I’ve done it girls, I’ve f***ing done it.’

Returning to the stage as Dyer made his exit, ceremony host Alan Cumming told the audience: ‘I’ve been asked to apologise for the naughty language there.’

Elsewhere it was a special night for Ruth Jones, who accepted the award for female Performance in a Comedy after playing the iconic Nessa for a final time in December’s Gavin & Stacey finale.

Accepting the award from Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, she said: ‘I really wasn’t expecting this, so I wanted to thank the wonderful cast.

‘Huge thank you to the BBC, such a fantastic institution which I am so proud to have worked with so many times.’

Turning to her writing partner, Jones added: ‘The person I would like to thank most is my dear, kind and talented friend James Corden, with whom I have shared this astonishing journey for 17-years and without whom Vanessa Shanessa Jenson would not have existed.

‘I love you James, I love writing with you. Long may it continue.’

However the show suffered disappointment in the P&O Cruises Memorable Moment category, with blind comedian Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell’s Strictly Come Dancing waltz beating Smithy’s wedding to the accolade.

Meanwhile, the BBC won its first TV BAFTA in an astonishing 33-years for its extensive Live Event Coverage of the Glastonbury Festival at Somerset’s Worthy Farm.

EastEnders also got in on the act, with the long-running BBC flagship claiming the award for Best Soap as it celebrates its milestone 40th anniversary.

The broadcasting giant claimed another gong courtesy of BBC Breakfast, with the morning show winning its first ever TV BAFTA for their Post Office Special.

Echoing the sentiments of producer Patrick Spencer, the show’s resident producer said: ‘This award is for those nije brave postmasters who sat on our sofa.

‘They bravely told their stories and they were just a fraction of those who were let down in that terrible scandal.

‘We will continue to tell your story until you get justice.’

Popular BBC show Would I Lie To You claimed the Entertainment Programme accolade – and gave resident panellist David Mitchell an opportunity to poke fun at beleaguered Prince Andrew.

He said: ‘We have been nominated eight times but this is the first time we have won. They actually abolished the category we were nominated for last year and so we thought next year we would be nominated in news, maybe a short-form drama on something that Prince Andrew has done.’

Robert Rinder and Rylan Clark also found themselves among the winners, with BBC show Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour winning the Factual Entertainment award.