The 2024 British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) were held at the Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre, London, and saw its share of the good and the bad.
The best was, of course, Deepika Padukone’s presence at the awards ceremony, as she shimmered in a Sabyasachi sari.
The show saw its share of controversy when late actor Matthew Perry was not included in the In Memoriam segment.
The Friends star, who died last October at age 54, did not appear during the tribute — set to a special arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time performed by Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham — and social media users were quick to criticize the decision.
BAFTA did, however, respond to the social media backlash, and a spokesperson for BAFTA tells PEOPLE magazine, ‘I can confirm Matthew Perry will be remembered in our forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards.’
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Deepika Padukone was not the only Bollywood actor in attendance.
Amy Jackson made an appearance at the awards show with fiance Ed Westwick.
Interestingly, she will be seen in this week’s release, Crakk: Jeetegaa… Toh Jiyegaa, opposite Vidyut Jammwal.
Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/Pool via Reuters
Prince William, who has been the president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, catches up with EE Rising Star Award winner Mia McKenna-Bruce, extreme right, and nominees Phoebe Dynevor, Ayo Edebiri and Sophie Wilde.
Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton was missing from the ceremony as she had recently returned home after undergoing abdominal surgery.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters
Emma Stone bags the Best Actress award for her role in Poor Things, a black-comedy, sci-fi fantasy.
In her acceptance speech, Emma thanked her mother for giving her life and her Poor Things screenwriter Tony McNamara the line, ‘I must go punch that baby.’
‘I was playing a British person in this movie and (Neil Swain, dialogue coach) did not laugh at me when he taught me how to say ‘wart-ter,’ even though as an American I say ‘wahter,” Stone quipped. ‘So thank you England for accepting me.’
Giving a shout out to her mother, Emma added, ‘Because she’s the best person I know in the whole world and she inspires me every single day. She’s always made me believe this kind of crazy idea that I could do something like this and I’m beyond grateful. Without her none of this exists — including my life! So thank you for that too, mom!’
Stone also served as a producer on Poor Things, and she says at the post-awards press conference: ‘This was the first film that I’ve produced alongside of acting, and so it feels like doubly meaningful because they’ve just both in front of me behind. It was incredible to be part of it.’
In Poor Things, Stone essays the Frankenstein-like Bella, who’s created by a reclusive Victorian doctor. She looks like an adult woman but, at the beginning of the film, has the mental capacity of a toddler and soon embarks on a sex-filled quest to understand the world around her.
This is Stone’s second BAFTA win, having previously taken home the Golden Mask for leading actress in 2017 for her role in La La Land, opposite Ryan Gosling.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters
How many awards is too much?
Oppenheimer Director Christopher Nolan, seen here with wife Emma Thomas, shows off his award for Best Director, defeating All of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh), Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet), The Holdovers (Alexander Payne), Maestro (Bradley Cooper) and The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer).
The film also bagged awards in Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Original Score.
Oppenheimer was nominated in 13 categories, winning seven.
Set during World War II, the biopic follows Oppenheimer, known as the Father of the Atomic Bomb, during a period in history when he understood that testing the atomic bomb would ignite the atmosphere and destroy the world, yet he pushed the button anyway.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters
Cillian Murphy bags the Best Actor award for Oppenheimer.
This is the actor’s first lead role in a Christopher Nolan film, having previously collaborated in Inception, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises and Dunkirk.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Robert Downey Jr, seen here with wife Susan, won the Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Bradley Cooper walks the red carpet with Carey Mulligan, the lead actor of his directorial venture, Maestro.
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters
David Beckham makes a stylish entry at the BAFTAs.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Emma Stone and Emily Blunt share a moment at the red carpet.
Blunt, unfortunately, missed her Best Supporting Actor (for Oppenheimer) to…
Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters
…Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
While Barbie failed to win any award, its lead actor Margot Robbie managed to steal attention with her red carpet look.
Margot wore a satin pink and black gown, which made her look like a life-size Barbie.
She was accompanied by her husband Tom Ackerley.
Margot was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie but lost to Emma Stone.
Barbie notched five nominations, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ryan Gosling and Best Original Screenplay for Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Cate Blanchett makes a regal appearance.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Oppenheimer actor Florence Pugh made heads turn in her bold Harris Reed corset gown.
Photograph: Isabel Infantes/ Reuters
Hugh Grant escorts his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein.
