With so many Hollywood power players in attendance, the likes of Jessie Ware plus Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami (aka the voices behind KPop Demon Hunters) performing, as well as a brand new host in the shape of national treasure Alan Cumming, the 2026 BAFTAs ceremony was always going to be an event worth tuning in for. But if you just want the headlines, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. From big red-carpet moments to tear-filled speeches and surprise sweeps, here’s everything you might have missed from the 2026 British Academy Film Awards.
A very royal visit
After skipping the red carpet last year (which, fair enough – it was three degrees and they wanted to enjoy a holiday), the Prince and Princess of Wales showed up to the 2026 BAFTAs to celebrate this year’s winners and nominees. Looking very princess-like as per, Kate wore a chiffon gown in shades of lilac, while William opted for a burgundy velvet tux (later, a very serious-looking Prince honoured NBCUniversal Entertainment’s chairman, Dame Donna Langley, who was awarded BAFTA’s Fellowship prize).
Kylie won Best Wing Woman at the BAFTAs for the second year running
After being forced to sit through a Take That performance last year, Kylie Jenner was surprisingly undeterred from supporting her man at the 2026 BAFTAs for a second year running – this time, for his starring role in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. It paid off, obviously, as Cumming presented her with a jammy dodger during the “handing out snacks” portion of the evening (do they not have those in the US??).
One Battle After Another owned the night
While Hamnet and Sinners picked up their fair share of bronze masks (including Jessie Buckley’s no-brainer win for Best Actress), it was Paul Thomas Anderson’s action thriller One Battle After Another which dominated the evening, with an impressive six wins, including for Best Film.
Paddington stunned on the red carpet (and presented an award)
National treasure and British Vogue favourite Paddington Bear stepped out on the red carpet in [checks notes] a duffle coat and [checks notes again] no pants (…pantless trend!) and also no shoes. While he wasn’t picking up an award himself, he did present the Children’s and Family Film Award to Indian Manipuri-language coming-of-age drama, Boong. “I am the first presenter to get marmalade all over a BAFTA,” he said.
Robert Aramayo scored two big victories
The EE Rising Star award, plus the Best Actor prize over the likes of Marty Supreme’s Timothée Chalamet, One Battle After Another’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Blue Moon’s Ethan Hawke, for his portrayal of John Davidson, the Scottish activist living with Tourette syndrome, in I Swear. (Davidson himself was at the ceremony, and the BBC faced criticism for not editing out his exclamations.)
Wunmi Mosaku stole our hearts
The Sinners star gave an incredibly moving speech after her surprise Best Supporting Actress win over One Battle’s Teyana Taylor, saying of her character in the film: “I found a part of myself in Annie. A part of my hopes, my ancestral power and connection, parts of myself I thought I’d lost or tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in. Through her, I deepened my belief in my potential.” Glorious.
Ryan Coogler won the award for best reading of another person’s speech
Ordinarily, someone else reading out a victor’s speech is incredibly dull, but not so with the Sinners director, who delivered punch line after punch line when accepting Ludwig Göransson’s Best Original Score prize. Happily, he also won his own statuette, for Best Original Screenplay.
The musical performances went hard
They may have garnered a muted reception in the room, but you can’t fault Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami’s rendition of “Golden”, or Jessie Ware belting out “The Way We Were” during the In Memoriam segment.
There were plenty of genuinely emotional moments
From My Fathers Shadow’s Akinola Davies Jr and Wale Davies’s tribute to their dad after winning Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, to the Best Documentary-winning team behind Mr Nobody Against Putin who spoke powerfully about the dangers of totalitarianism, many of the best speeches of the night weren’t shown in full on the BBC, but were certainly received very warmly in the room.
This story was originally published on British Vogue.
