Richard Ayoade is set to host this years’ British Academy Television Awards which along with a new date, sees a number of changes being made to the ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presenter, comedian, writer, actor and director, Ayoade, will steer the helm of this year’s television awards ceremony. Earlier this year, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) which, hosts the event, attracted wide-spread criticism for failing to adequately acknowledge the huge talent pool of Black creatives both behind and in-front of the camera, once again ensuring the hashtag #BAFTASSoWhite trending. Not a single person of colour was nominated for an acting award.
Originally scheduled for spring 2020, the awards will now take place on Friday 31 July as part of a closed studio, socially-distanced show, with nominees invited to accept their awards virtually.
Richard has previously won a BAFTA for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for The IT Crowd, and has been nominated for a BAFTA on two other occasions – once in the British Academy Film Awards, for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Submarine, and again for Travel Man, which was also nominated for Best Feature in the Television Awards in 2017.
In his usual inimitable style, Richard voiced what a lot of us were thinking when he commented about the awards, saying: “I am as surprised as you are that this is still going ahead.”
The nominations for this year’s awards will be announced on Thursday 4 June 2020.
