David Tennant Hosts the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards

David Tennant hosted the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony at The Royal Festival Hall in London. The event, broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer, celebrated the best in film of the past year.

Tennant opened the awards with a performance of The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles, featuring contributions from Selena Gomez, Colman Domingo, Anna Kendrick, Hugh Grant, and Camila Cabello.

Tennant’s Quips and Observations

Throughout the evening, Tennant shared his observations and jokes with the audience. Backstage, stars were noted to be in good spirits, despite some being jet-lagged or hungry.

Some of Tennant’s remarks included:

• On the audience: “It’s fair to say there might be some people in this room who have had a little freshening up. I admit, I’ve taken The Substance. There’s a guy in my dressing room who looks like Nosferatu.”
• On A Complete Unknown: “It’s like Mamma Mia for middle aged dads.”
• On Conclave: “A hundred machinating schemers trying to decide between a conservative or progressive candidate, diversity or tradition. It’s like picking the next James Bond.”
• On Donald Trump: “Trump says he hasn’t seen The Apprentice because it’s a 15 [rating]. It’s not on Nickelodeon. Donald Trump … I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice, I’ve summoned him. And talking of villains, we’ve had many this year.”
• On the winners: “If you win, please keep your speeches the opposite to your films: nice and short.”
• On Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner: “We’re very privileged tonight to be joined by the runner-up in New York’s recent Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition. Welcome to the Baftas, young man!… Lovely attention to detail, you’re with a Kylie Jenner lookalike, well done!”

Key Moments from the Awards

The ceremony also featured several notable moments:

• Take That performed ‘Greatest Day’ from ‘Anora’.
• Jeff Goldblum played ‘As Time Goes By’ on the piano during the In Memoriam section.

Winners of the Evening

Several films and individuals were recognized for their work. Key winners included:

• Conclave: Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Editing
• The Brutalist: Director (Brady Corbet), Leading Actor (Adrien Brody), Cinematography, Original Score
• Anora: Leading Actress (Mikey Madison), Casting
• Emilia Pérez: Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña), Film Not in the English Language
• A Real Pain: Supporting Actor (Kieran Culkin), Original Screenplay (Jesse Eisenberg)
• Kneecap: Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer (Rich Peppiett)
• Warwick Davis: BAFTA Fellowship
• David Jonsson: EE Rising Star Award

Adrien Brody, Mikey Madison, Zoe Saldaña, and Kieran Culkin received their first BAFTA Film Awards wins. Brady Corbet also secured his first BAFTA Film Awards nomination and win.

Warwick Davis received the BAFTA Fellowship for his acting career and his work advocating for people with dwarfism.

David Jonsson won the EE Rising Star Award, voted for by the public.