BAFTA TV Awards: Killing Eve wins three gongs as Jodie Comer named leading actress
Jodie Comer was in tears as she collected her first-ever BAFTA award, paying tribute to Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Monday 13 May 2019 12:28, UK
Killing Eve has swept the board at the TV BAFTAs, winning three awards - leading actress, supporting actress and best drama series.
The first series of the cat-and-mouse thriller triumphed over rival hit show Bodyguard for the drama series gong.
Killing Eve's second season is currently being shown in the US but not yet in the UK, although it has already been renewed for a third.
Comer was in tears as she won her first-ever BAFTA for leading actress as the show's psychopathic assassin Villanelle, paying tribute to its creator and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
The Liverpudlian beat US co-star Sandra Oh, among others, to the award.
"Thank you so much," the 26-year-old said.
"Sorry I'm the only one who's turned on the waterworks."
She described Waller-Bridge as "the most talented person I know, also an inspiration".
And she dedicated the prize to her grandmother, saying: "Nana Frances sadly passed away on the first week of filming."
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Receiving the drama series award, Waller-Bridge exclaimed "f***" and praised her "charismatic, breathtaking, energetic team" on stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
"I can't speak it's so unbelievably exciting", she said, praising author Luke Jennings, whose books were the basis for the drama.
She added: "Thanks for everyone for taking risks. Jodie Comer almost swallowed a wasp in Tuscany. It was a really edgy moment that we did capture on camera."
Speaking to Sky News on the red carpet before the ceremony, Comer described the public reaction to Killing Eve as "incredible".
On playing the killer in the show, she said: "I live everything through her."
"It's so good because I get to express so much through her and she gets away with so much mischief and naughtiness that I would never get away with.
"But she is also of course deeply dangerous and equally as terrifying... so it's the dream job."
Killing Eve's Fiona Shaw scooped best supporting actress for her role as Carolyn Martens and paid tribute to Waller-Bridge's "earth-shattering genius and wayward imagination".
Sky Atlantic drama Patrick Melrose won two awards, with Benedict Cumberbatch being named leading actor for his role as the titular Melrose.
The actor, who received his first BAFTA nomination in 2005, told the audience: "Oh gosh, I think I'm going to fall over, I'm very used to being a bridesmaid not the bride.
"I'll keep it short because everyone probably does need to go to the bathroom.
"We all stand on one man's shoulders, the man who wrote the five novels who this is based on.
"Edward St Aubyn, thank you for your wit, your courage."
The 2018 five-part drama about Britain's upper class also picked up best mini-series.
I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! won best reality and constructed factual for the most recent series featuring Holly Willoughby as co-host.
Willoughby filled in for Ant McPartlin on the show when the presenter took a break from work after being arrested for drink-driving.
Co-presenter Declan Donnelly said: "Thank you Holly for helping me out last year.
"You did a fantastic job standing in for Ant, who has reluctantly come up here tonight."
McPartlin jokingly waved as Donnelly added: "He's still part of the team as well."
Britain's Got Talent, also fronted by Ant and Dec, was among the other winners, scooping best entertainment programme.
Cambridge Analytica Uncovered (Channel 4) triumphed in the news category, with its programme-makers thanking the undercover reporter who exposed what the political consulting firm were up to.
They said: "We couldn't have done it without him - or her."
"Facebook are saying they are doing what they can to protect people's data... we still await to see if that's the case."
Here are the main TV BAFTA winners:
:: Fellowship - Joan Bakewell
:: Special Award - Nicola Shindler
:: Comedy Entertainment Programme - A League Of Their Own
:: Current Affairs - Myanmar's Killing Fields (Dispatches)
:: Drama Series - Killing Eve
:: Entertainment Performance - Lee Mack - Would I Lie To You?
:: Entertainment Programme - Britain's Got Talent
:: Factual Series - Louis Theroux's Altered States
:: Features - Who Do You Think You Are?
:: Female Performance In A Comedy Programme - Jessica Hynes - There She Goes
:: International - Succession, Sky Atlantic
:: Leading Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch - Patrick Melrose
:: Leading Actress - Jodie Comer - Killing Eve
:: Live Event - The Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance
:: Male Performance In A Comedy Programme - Steve Pemberton - Inside No. 9
:: Mini-Series - Patrick Melrose
:: News Coverage - Cambridge Analytica Uncovered
:: Reality and Constructed Factual - I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
:: Scripted Comedy - Sally4ever
:: Short Form Programme - Missed Call
:: Single Documentary - Gun No 6
:: Single Drama - Killed By My Debt
:: Soap and Continuing Drama - EastEnders
:: Specialist Factual - Suffragettes With Lucy Worsley
:: Sport - 2018 World Cup Quarter Final: England V Sweden
:: Supporting Actor - Ben Whishaw - A Very English Scandal
:: Supporting Actress - Fiona Shaw - Killing Eve
:: Virgin Media's Must-See Moment (voted for by the public) - Bodyguard - Julia Montague Assassinated