Bridgerton and Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan leads the Irish charge at tonight's TV BAFTAs in London. We look at the runners and riders at UK television’s big night
They used to call it a watercooler moment - an impromptu workplace conversation about something that sparked a mutual interest between two people - and it mostly revolved around television
The TV BAFTAs sussed this years ago when they enshrined The Memorable Moment award at the ceremony, which honours the best in British television, back in 2017 and it is the only category voted by the general public.
Previous winners which provided the collective `ooooo’ moments that keep us watching even in this era of atomised streaming viewing have included the Tommy Lee Royce/Catherine Cawood showdown in Happy Valley, Paddington having tea with The Queen, and the Snake v Iguana chase on Planet Earth II.
Galway-born actress Nicola Coughlan, who plays proto gossip columnist Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, is everywhere right now so it’s no surprise that she is the running for Memorable Moment at the BAFTA TV awards tonight in London’s Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.
She could win for "THE" carriage scene in the Netflix period romp when Colin admits his true feelings for Penelope. It was a pivotal moment for fans of the glossy and insubstantial slice of Regency London hokum but Coughlan is up against some very stiff competition.
For a lot of people, the TV event of last Christmas seemed to be BBC One’s Gavin & Stacey: The Finale and in particular the scene where Mick Stands Up. Then there was the blood-freezing moment in ITV1’s Mr Bates Vs The Post Office when Jo Hamilton phones the Horizon helpline.
Also nominated for Memorable Moment are Rupert Campbell-Black and Sarah Stratton being caught in a game of naked tennis in Disney+’s tale of Cotswolds rumpy-pumpy Rivals, Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell Waltz to You'll Never Walk Alone on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, and THAT "Paul isn't my son… but Ross is!" scene on The Traitors.
Coughlan has also earned a nod in the Female Performance in a Comedy category for her role as Maggie in Channel 4's Big Mood, the dark comedy-drama series about two best friends dealing with work, life and mental health pressures.
She leads another strong year for Irish talent. As well as that Memorable Moment nod, saucy Disney+ drama Rivals, starring Irish actors Aidan Turner and Victoria Smurfit, has six nominations.
Belfast-born actor Lola Petticrew, who has previously appeared in the films A Bump Along the Way, Dating Amber, and Tuesday, is nominated for Leading Actress for their portrayal of Dolours Price in Disney+'s Say Nothing, which is also competing in the International category.
King of Chatmandu Graham Norton secures his 18th BAFTA nomination for Best Entertainment Performance for The Graham Norton Show, and there’s more Irish interest with Belfast-set drama Blue Lights recognised in the Best Drama Series category.
Tonight’s shindig will once again celebrate the best in television from 2024, spotlighting "the exceptional quality and diversity of British TV".
But overall, the story of the night is the same as the last few years as the main UK channels - BBC, ITV and Channel 4 - continue to struggle to attract the talent and money to make marquee dramas with the same clout and global reach as the streaming giants.
That can be seen as Netflix’s phenomenon Baby Reindeer leads the pack with ten TVBAFTA nominations, including Best Actor for Scottish comedian and writer Richard Gadd, the show’s creator, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Jessica Gunning, who has already won a prestigious Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award, as well as an Emmy and Golden Globe for her role in the series.
However, ITV’s greatest commercial and critical success of recent years, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, should get some very well deserved recognition. The riveting drama about the sub-postmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal in the UK, has six nominations and is also nominated in the Memorable Moment category.
Watch: Aidan Turner and Victoria Smurfit chat about raunchy Rivals
There are 25 categories in total at this year’s ceremony, which will be hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming with comedians Suzi Ruffell and Tom Allen on red carpet duty.
The BBC’s runaway hit The Traitors (an Irish version is on the way) is likely to have a good night after host Claudia Winkleman was given a nod in the entertainment performance category and the show has also been nominated in the reality category, alongside Love is Blind, Dragons’ Den and The Jury: Murder Trial.
Up against Winkleman in the entertainment performance category is Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway, which last year saw the duo present the final episode of the 20th series, after it was announced they would be taking a break from the show.
Other nominees in the Leading Actress category include Anna Maxwell Martin for her role in ITV’s Until I Kill You, which told the true story of Delia Balmer (Maxwell Martin), who survived a near-fatal relationship with murderer John Sweeney (Shaun Evans).
Actress Billie Piper is nominated for Netflix’s Scoop, which sees her play Sam McAlister, the producer who secured the infamous Newsnight interview with the UK's Duke of York, while Marisa Abela is nominated for Industry, and Sharon D Clarke for Mr Loverman, the BBC series based on the acclaimed 2013 novel by the Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo.
Also nominated for their role in Mr Loverman is Lennie James, in the Leading Actor category alongside David Tennant for Rivals, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Martin Freeman for The Responder, and Toby Jones for his role as former subpostmaster Alan Bates, one of more than 550 claimants who took legal action against the Post Office.
The questions of have we reached peak TV and whether actual television itself survive in this age of information and entertainment overload are asked at lot these days but the TV BAFTAs once again prove there is plenty of life left in the old box yet.
Watch the BAFTA Television Awards on BBC One tonight at 7pm.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
Nominations In full
Leading actress
Anna Maxwell Martin - Until I Kill You (ITV1)
Billie Piper - Scoop (Netflix)
Lola Petticrew - Say Nothing (Disney+)
Marisa Abela - Industry (BBC One)
Monica Dolan - Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1)
Sharon D Clarke - Mr Loverman (BBC One)
Leading actor
David Tennant - Rivals (Disney+)
Gary Oldman - Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Lennie James - Mr Loverman (BBC One)
Martin Freeman - The Responder (BBC One)
Richard Gadd - Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Toby Jones - Mr Bates vs The Post Office (ITV1)
Supporting actor
Ariyon Bakare - Mr Loverman (BBC One)
Christopher Chung - Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Damian Lewis - Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (BBC One)
Jonathan Pryce - Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
Mckinley Belcher III - Eric (Netflix)
Supporting actress
Jessica Gunning - Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Katherine Parkinson - Rivals (Disney+)
Maxine Peake - Say Nothing (Disney+)
Monica Dolan - Sherwood (BBC One)
Nava Mau - Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Sue Johnston - Truelove (Channel 4)
Female performance in a comedy
Anjana Vasan - We Are Lady Parts (Channel 4)
Kate O'Flynn - Everyone Else Burns (Channel 4
Lolly Adefope - The Franchise (Sky Comedy)
Nicola Coughlan - Big Mood (Channel 4)
Ruth Jones - Gavin & Stacey: The Finale (BBC One)
Sophie Willan - Alma's Not Normal (BBC Two)
Male performance in a comedy
Bilal Hasna - Extraordinary (Disney+)
Danny Dyer - Mr Bigstuff (Sky Comedy)
Dylan Thomas-Smith - G'Wed (ITV2)
Nabhaan Rizwan - Kaos – Sister (Netflix)
Oliver Savell- Changing Ends (ITV1)
Phil Dunning - Smoggie Queens (BBC Three)
Drama series
Blue Lights - BBC One
Sherwood - BBC One
Supacell - Netflix
Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light - BBC One
Limited drama
Baby Reindeer - Netflix
Lost Boys And Fairies - BBC One
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office - ITV1
One Day - Netflix
Writer: Comedy
Alma's Not Normal - BBC Two
Brassic - Sky Max
G'wed - ITV2
Ludwig - BBC One
Soap
Casualty (BBC One)
Coronation Street (ITV1)
EastEnders (BBC One)
Factual entertainment
In Vogue: The 90s - Disney+
Race Across The World - BBC One
Rob And Rylan's Grand Tour - BBC Two
Sort Your Life Out - BBC One
Entertainment performance
Anthony McPartlin, Declan Donnelly - Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - (ITV1)
Claudia Winkleman - The Traitors (BBC One)
Graham Norton - The Graham Norton Show (BBC One)
Joe Lycett - Late Night Lycett - (Channel 4)
Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett - Rob & Romesh Vs (Sky Max)
Stacey Solomon Sort Your Life Out - (BBC One)
Entertainment programme
The 1% Club - ITV1
Michael Mcintyre's Big Show - BBC One
Taskmaster - Channel 4
Would I Lie To You? - BBC One
Reality
Dragons' Den - BBC One
The Jury: Murder Trial – Channel 4
Love Is Blind – Netflix
The Traitors – BBC One
Daytime
Clive Myrie's Caribbean Adventure - BBC Two
Loose Women - ITV1
Morning Live - BBC One
Richard Osman's House Of Games - BBC Two
International
After The Party - Channel 4
Colin From Accounts - BBC Two
Say Nothing - Disney+
Shōgun - Disney+
True Detective: Night Country - Sky Atlantic
You Are Not Alone: Fighting The Wolfpack - Netflix
Live event coverage
D-Day 80: Tribute To The Fallen - BBC One
Glastonbury 2024 - BBC Two
Last Night Of The Proms - BBC Two
Current affairs
Life and Death in Gaza (Storyville) - BBC Two
Maternity: Broken Trust (Exposure) - ITV1
State of Rage - Channel 4
Ukraine's War: The Other Side - ITV1
Single documentary
Hell Jumper - BBC Two
Tell Them You Love Me - Sky Documentaries
Ukraine: Enemy In The Woods - BBC Two
Undercover: Exposing The Far Right - Channel 4
Factual series
American Nightmare - Netflix
Freddie Flintoff's Field Of Dreams On Tour - BBC One
The Push: Murder On The Cliff - Channel 4
To Catch A Copper - Channel 4
Specialist factual
Atomic People - BBC Two
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love - National Geographic
Children of the Cult - ITV1
Miners' Strike 1984: The Battle For Britain - Channel 4
News coverage
BBC Breakfast: Post Office Special - BBC News/BBC One
Channel 4 News: Inside Sednaya – The Fall Of Assad Channel 4 News/Channel 4
Channel 4 News: Undercover Inside Reform's Campaign – Channel 4 News/Channel 4
Sports coverage
Euro 2024 - BBC Sport/BBC One
Paris 2024 Olympics - BBC Sport/BBC One
Wimbledon 2024 - BBC Sport/Wimbledon Broadcast Services/BBC One
Memorable moment
Bridgerton - "THE" carriage scene where Colin admits his true feelings for Penelope (Netflix)
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale - Smithy's Wedding: Mick Stands Up - BBC One
Mr Bates Vs The Post Office - Jo Hamilton phones the Horizon helpline (ITV1)
Rivals - Rupert Campbell-Black and Sarah Stratton are caught in a game of naked tennis (Disney+)
Strictly Come Dancing - Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell Waltz to You'll Never Walk Alone (BBC One)
The Traitors - "Paul isn't my son… but Ross is!" (BBC One)
Short form
Brown Brit - Channel 4
Peaked - Channel 4
Quiet Life - BBC Three
Spud - BBC Three
