PA/BBCA little award ceremony called the BAFTAs happened last night. I know, me neither.
But before you go Googling who won and lost, I’ll tell you right now – the brilliantly dark, psychological thriller Killing Eve walked away as the biggest winner of the evening, bagging three awards.
The show, written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, took home the awards for Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Jodie Comer, and Best Supporting Actress for Fiona Shaw.
The award for Best Supporting Actress was – surprisingly – Fiona Shaw’s first BAFTA nomination and win. The actress said that, since starring in the show, ‘people have started to suspect I am a spy’.
The win for Jodie Comer, while fully deserved, was bittersweet as she was nominated alongside her co-star Sandra Oh. It was Comer’s first win, having been nominated two years ago for the same award after her role in the BBC crime drama Thirteen.
Killing Eve was up for for 14 awards in total. Despite being commissioned by BBC America, is was given special dispensation to qualify for the awards, rather than being limited to the international categories. This was thanks to its UK crew of writer, producers and actors, as Variety reports.
Meanwhile, Benedict Cumberbatch picked up the Best Leading Actor award for his performance in Patrick Melrose, beating strong competition from Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal. Ben Whishaw, however, walked away with prize for Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Very English Scandal, marking his second BAFTA since winning Best Leading Actor for the 2013 drama The Hollow Crown: Richard II.
Succession, the HBO drama, took home the award in the international category, beating The Handmaid’s Tale.
BBC AmericaKilling Eve has been a huge success for BBC America, with the network renewing it for a third season before season two even aired, while season two was also commissioned before season one was done.
BBC America president Sarah Barnett said last year, via Digital Spy:
The early response to Killing Eve has been incredible – for that reason, as well as the fact that we wholeheartedly love this original, funny, thrillingly entertaining series, we are delighted to move ahead with a second season before we even premiere.
The thriller follows the lives of two women – Eve, an MI5 agent played by Sandra Oh, and Villanelle, an assassin played by Jodie Comer – as Eve tries to track down the dangerous assassin.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.