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voice of them all
Hot from his BAFTA win for The Big Impression, Alistair McGowan hosted the British Academy Television Craft Awards at The Dorchester on May 11.
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Whilst in body there was only one host, the audi- ence were treated to the company of David Beckham, Jonathan Ross, Michael Parkinson, Jo Brand, Chris Tarrant, David Attenborough and many more, thanks to Alistair’s impec- cable mimicry skills.
The mutual respect between presenters and nominees was very evident. On the subject of costume design Jessica Stevenson said “once the shoes are right everything falls into place.” David Morrissey spoke of his “complete awe” of the DoP, “particularly given the time restrictions and the weather con- ditions in this country.”
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant hit an aptly wry comic note in presenting the New Writer award. Ricky considers himself a writer foremost, but, “I had to write myself a part because the money you get is about 5-1 per- formance to writing.” The Office has sold about 1.5 million DVDs but “Stephen’s got hardly any- thing and I’ve got a new house!”
Other presenters included Jenny Agutter, Jean Boht, Amelia Bullmore, Angela Griffin, Kate
Humble, Kelly MacDonald, Donal MacIntyre, Gillies MacKinnon, Michael Palin, Archie Punjabi, Chris Simpson, John Simpson.
The evening was not without poignancy. Shirley Russell’s part- ner, Jonathan Benson, collected her posthumous award for Costume Design on Shackleton and paid tribute to “the most modest person I’ve known.”
The BAFTA for New Director Factual was collected by the series producer for Death, as Alice Yglesias was suffering her own personal bereavement, and John Simpson paid tribute to “so many friends” whose names sadly appeared in the obituary tribute.
The highlight of the evening was the Special Award to Carl Davis for his remarkable career in film and television music. Lynda La Plante (long-term friend and bridesmaid to Carl and his wife Jean Boht) made the presentation paying tribute to his many credits including The Naked Civil Servant, Pride & Prejudice, Goodnight Mister Tom, The World At War, A Year In Provence, The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Champions.
A big thank you goes to our sponsors: Canford Audio, Montblanc, Oasis Television, Sebastian McLean International, Sony Pictures International Television. And finally Hilary Bevan Jones has to be singled out for her dedication and pas- sion for the Television Craft Awards – they have become a memorable evening for all in the industry. Lisa Prime
Photos l-r:
1. John Simpson, presenter of the Editing Factual award that went
to Peter Norrey
2. Alistair McGowan entertains
the crowd
3. Angela Griffin and Philip Kloss, winner for Editing Fiction/Enter tainment
4. Michael Palin on stage
5. Nominated costumes on display
6. Jenny Agutter enjoys the evening
7. David Morrissey congratulates DoP Ivan Strasburg (l) on his BAFTA win
8. Special award winner Carl Davis and Lynda LaPlante
photos by Richard Kendal and Ellis O’Brien
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