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1. The must-have accessory on the red carpet is mum and dad
This year was all about accessory mums and dads. Riz Ahmed nailed it, proudly posing with his super chic mum. Dev Patel brought his mum and dad to watch him win Best Supporting Actor for ‘Lion’. Bryce Dallas Howard had dad Ron as arm candy (his Beatles film ‘Eight Days a Week’ was also up for Best Doc).
2. The most authentic anti-Trump speeches worked best
Bafta host Stephen Fry jumped right in with the Trump-bashing, calling Meryl Streep one of the greatest actors of all time, and adding that only ‘a blithering idiot’ would think otherwise. That pretty much set the tone for a string of anti-Trump speeches. The best political speeches were personal. Picking up Best Director for ‘Manchester By the Sea’, Kenneth Longeran explained how proud he was of his 15-year-old daughter, who woke up in tears the morning after the US election, and has been on five protest demonstrations since.
Everyone loves Emma Stone, but her 'let's celebrate the positive gift of creativity' speech after winning Best Actress is exactly the kind of nothing-y actors-talking-politics statement that grates on people. But she did compensate on the red carpet with some Oscar-worthy eye-rolling, when Zoe Ball asked if she'd planned a speech.
3. Oh, and JK Rowling might have called Trump a ‘populist maniac’
JK Rowling can do anything. This weekend, she smacked down Piers Morgan on Twitter, and still found time to pop along to the Baftas, where 'Fantastic Beasts' was nominated for five Baftas (it won Best Production Design). On the red carpet even the shouty paparazzi photographers seemed a bit in awe of her. And when asked about the current state of politics, she answered: ‘Let's just say it's a very interesting time to be writing a franchise about the rise of a populist maniac.’ And here's her awards face. Way more regal than Wills 'n' Kate.
Photo: BBC
4. Ken Loach won Best Speech
Veteran director Ken Loach brought a lump to the throat with his angry speech after winning Outstanding British Film for ‘I, Daniel Blake’, a devastating benefits cuts drama: ‘The most vulnerable and poorest people are treated by this government with a contempt and a callous brutality that is disgraceful,’ Loach, who came out of retirement to direct the film said. ‘It’s a brutality that extends to keeping out refugee children that we promised to help.’ Describing the world as getting darker, he added: ‘We’re with the people.’
5. Casey Affleck is a sore winner. Why so grumpy?
Not only is Casey Affleck decisively winning the ‘which Affleck bro is the best actor’ competition, he’s also got the Oscar for Best Actor on lockdown for ‘Manchester By Sea’. So why did he spend the entire Baftas looking like his goldfish died?
6. Dev Patel is a total charmer
The night was a tale of two beards. While sullen Casey Affleck seemed to be having an existential crisis, Dev Patel, winner of Best Supporting Actor, was jumping off the walls with joy. He gave a lovely speech, sweetly telling everyone that he usually watches the Baftas at home with his mum and dad, and later, backstage, said he still felt wobbly.
Photo: Ellie Walker-Arnott
7. ‘La La Land' inspires people to drink
No surprise, ‘La La Land’ dominated the Baftas with five awards, including the top prize of Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress for Emma Stone. That wasn’t quite the bigger-than-‘Titanic’ sweep some predicted, but still, it was all a bit much for the producer who gobbled his words during an acceptance speech for Best Film, earnestly announcing that ‘La La Land’ inspires people to ‘drink bigger.’ He meant ‘dream’.
8. Mel Brooks isn't afraid of President Trump
Legendary funnyman Mel Brooks was awarded the Bafta Fellowship last night and backstage later talk quickly turned to President Trump. 'He just simply hasn’t reached Hitlerian proportions yet. We’ve got to give him a chance. He might get there,' the 90-year-old said, adding: 'I don’t think he’s dangerous. I’m not afraid of Trump, not at all. I think he’s mostly an entertainer, a guy that wants audiences to love him.'
'What I’m afraid of is all the guys around him, the people who whisper in his ears,' he said. 'Trump, please listen to me, stay the egomaniac that you are, listen to no one then we’ll all be safe.'
Photo: Ellie Walker-Arnott
9.And finally, the award for Best Gag goes to Stephen Fry
Naturally. Fry joked that Prince William, sitting in the audience with his missus, was ‘still recovering from the news he’s distantly related to Danny Dyer'. Which tickled the Duchess of York.
In other news, Dev Patel talks 'Lion, tech and roles for Asian actors, JK Rowling continues to be the queen of Twitter and Mary Poppins is back in London