TV PROGRAMMES and addictive shows helped many of us get through lockdown. 

Now, many of them are getting some well-deserved recognition and have been nominated for Bafta television awards.

Small Axe, The Crown and I May Destroy You are just some of the shows that have been nominated for an award. 

Here's everything you need to know about the 2021 Baftas- including the full list of nominations:

Who has been nominated?

South Wales Argus: Mangrove is one of five films from director Sir Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology (BBC/PA)Mangrove is one of five films from director Sir Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology (BBC/PA)

Sir Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series leading the pack in terms of nominations this year.

The series of films is in the running for 15 gongs, including recognition for John Boyega for his performance as Met Police officer Leroy Logan in the instalment Red, White And Blue.

Letitia Wright and Shaun Parkes are also nominated for their performances in Mangrove and Sir Steve is nominated for best director.

The anthology, which was aired on the BBC, is in the running for nine craft prizes and six television awards, including best mini-series, and supporting actor nods for Malachi Kirby and Micheal Ward.

The Netflix royal drama The Crown scored 10 nods, six in craft categories and four in TV categories, including recognition for Josh O’Connor as the Prince of Wales, Tobias Menzies as the Duke of Edinburgh, and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.

South Wales Argus: Josh O’Connor in The Crown (Netflix)Josh O’Connor in The Crown (Netflix)

The show is nominated for the best drama series prize alongside Gangs Of London, I Hate Suzie and Save Me Too.

Michaela Coel’s powerful sexual assault drama I May Destroy You received eight nominations, including recognition for leading actress Coel and her co-star Paapa Essiedu, as well as a supporting nod for Weruche Opia, while the show is nominated for best mini-series.

Normal People, an adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name, scored seven nods, including best mini-series, while stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones are recognised in the leading actor and leading actress categories.

Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is recognised for the entertainment programme prize and will compete against Strictly Come Dancing, Life & Rhymes and The Masked Singer, while Coronation Street, EastEnders, Casualty, and Hollyoaks are nominated in the soap and continuing drama category.

Paul Ritter is nominated for a posthumous Bafta for male performance in a comedy programme for his role in Friday Night Dinner. He died at the age of 54 earlier this month after a brain tumour diagnosis.

For the full list of nominees, head to the Bafta website.

What were the best TV moments of the last year?

It was previously announced that Diversity’s headline-grabbing performance on Britain’s Got Talent is in the running to be voted the best TV moment at this year’s awards.

The Black Lives Matter-inspired routine is among six nominees for the Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment Award, which is voted for by the public.

The dance group sparked more than 24,000 complaints with a performance on the ITV programme in 2020, which saw a white performer kneeling on the neck of the group’s founder Ashley Banjo, in a reference to the death of George Floyd.

But TV watchdog Ofcom dismissed the complaints, concluding that the routine’s “central message was a call for social cohesion and unity”.

Penelope being revealed as the mysterious Lady Whistledown in Netflix’s raunchy period drama Bridgerton, abusive husband Gray Atkins killing Chantelle in BBC One’s EastEnders and Luke Skywalker appearing in The Mandalorian on Disney+ also made the shortlist.

South Wales Argus: (Liam Daniel/Netflix/PA)(Liam Daniel/Netflix/PA)

Nigella Lawson’s mispronunciation of the word microwave as “mee-cro-wah-vay” also features, after the scene from her BBC Two programme Cook, Eat, Repeat became a viral hit on social media.

Gogglebox on Channel 4 is nominated for scenes showing its armchair critics responding to prime minister Boris Johnson’s coronavirus press conferences.

To vote on the award, head to Virgin Media’s website.

Here is the full list of nominees:


Comedy Entertainment Programme

  • Charlie Brooker’s Antiviral Wipe
  • Rob & Romesh Vs
  • The Big Narstie Show
  • The Ranganation

Current Affairs

  • America’s War On Abortion (Exposure)
  • Italy’s Frontline: A Doctor’s Diary
  • The Battle For Hong Kong (Dispatches)
  • The Cyprus Papers Undercover (Al Jazeera Investigations)

Daytime

  • Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On
  • Richard Osman’s House Of Games Two
  • The Chase
  • The Great House Giveaway

Drama Series

  • Gangs Of London
  • I Hate Suzie
  • Save Me Too
  • The Crown

Entertainment Performance

  • Adam Hills – The Last Leg
  • Bradley Walsh – Beat the Chasers
  • Claudia Winkleman – Strictly Come Dancing
  • David Mitchell – Would I Lie to You? At Christmas
  • Graham Norton – The Graham Norton Show
  • Romesh Ranganathan – The Ranganation

Entertainment Programme

  • Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
  • Life & Rhymes
  • Strictly Come Dancing
  • The Masked Singer

Factual Series

  • Crime & Punishment
  • Hospital
  • Losing It: Our Mental Health Emergency
  • Once Upon A Time In Iraq

    Features
  • Big Zuu’s Big Eats
  • Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace
  • Mortimer And Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
  • The Repair Shop

Female Performance In A Comedy Programme

  • Aimee Lou Wood – Sex Education
  • Daisy Haggard – Breeders
  • Daisy May Cooper – This Country
  • Emma Mackey – Sex Education
  • Gbemisola Ikumelo – Famalam
  • Mae Martin – Feel Good

International

  • Little America
  • Lovecraft Country
  • Unorthodox
  • Welcome To Chechnya: The Gay Purge (Storyville)

Leading Actor

  • John Boyega – Small Axe
  • Josh O’Connor – The Crown
  • Paapa Essiedu – I May Destroy You
  • Paul Mescal – Normal People
  • Shaun Parkes – Small Axe
  • Waleed Zuaiter – Baghdad Central

 Leading Actress

  • Billie Piper – I Hate Suzie
  • Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People
  • Hayley Squires – Adult Material
  • Jodie Comer – Killing Eve
  • Letitia Wright – Small Axe
  • Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You

Live Event

  • Life Drawing Live!
  • Springwatch 2020
  • The Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance
  • The Third Day: Autumn

Male Performance In A Comedy Programme

  • Charlie Cooper – This Country
  • Guz Khan – Man Like Mobeen
  • Joseph Gilgun – Brassic
  • Ncuti Gatwa – Sex Education
  • Paul Ritter – Friday Night Dinner
  • Reece Shearsmith – Inside No. 9

Mini-Series

  • Adult Material
  • I May Destroy You
  • Normal People
  • Small Axe

News Coverage

  • BBC News At Ten: Prime Minister Admitted To Intensive Care
  • Channel 4 News: Deterring Democracy
  • Newsnight: Covid Care Crisis
  • Sky News: Inside Idlib

    Reality & Constructed Factual
  • MasterChef: The Professionals
  • Race Across The World
  • The School That Tried To End Racism
  • The Write Offs

Scripted Comedy

  • Ghosts
  • Inside No. 9
  • Man Like Mobeen
  • This Country

Short Form Programme

  • Criptales
  • Disabled Not Defeated: The Rock Band With Learning Disabilities – Delta 7
  • The Main Part
  • They Saw The Sun First

Single Documentary

  • American Murder: The Family Next Door
  • Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism & Me
  • Locked In: Breaking The Silence (Storyville)
  • Surviving Covid

Single Drama

  • Anthony
  • BBW (On The Edge)
  • Sitting In Limbo
  • The Windermere Children

Soap & Continuing Drama

  • Casualty
  • Coronation Street
  • EastEnders
  • Hollyoaks

Specialist Factual

  • Extinction: The Facts
  • Putin: A Russian Spy Story
  • The Rise Of The Murdoch Dynasty
  • The Surgeon’s Cut

Sport

  • Bahrain Grand Prix
  • England v France: The Final Of Autumn Nations Cup
  • England v West Indies Test Cricket
  • London Marathon 2020

Supporting Actor

  • Kunal Nayyar – Criminal: UK
  • Malachi Kirby – Small Axe
  • Michael Sheen – Quiz
  • Micheal Ward – Small Axe
  • Rupert Everett – Adult Material
  • Tobias Menzies – The Crown

Supporting Actress

  • Helena Bonham Carter – The Crown
  • Leila Farzad – I Hate Suzie
  • Rakie Ayola – Anthony
  • Siena Kelly – Adult Material
  • Sophie Okonedo – Criminal: UK
  • Weruche Opia – I May Destroy You

 Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment (voted for by the public)

  • Bridgerton – Penelope is revealed as Lady Whistledown
  • Britain’s Got Talent – Diversity perform a routine inspired by the events of 2020
  • EastEnders – Gray kills Chantelle
  • Gogglebox – Reactions to Boris Johnson’s press conference
  • Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat – Mee-cro-wah-vay
  • The Mandalorian – Luke Skywalker arrives

When can I watch this year’s Bafta television awards?

Comedian Richard Ayoade is returning to host the Baftas for a second year, with the ceremony returning to a studio-based production.

2020’s ceremony was broadcast live from behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic, with nominees accepting their awards virtually.

The Baftas will broadcast as-live on BBC One on the evening of Sunday 6 June.