The 2023 BAFTA TV Awards have been a night of triumphs and disappointments for the LGBTQ+ community. British gay acting legend Ben Whishaw won the best leading actor in a scripted comedy category for his role in the BBC adaptation of This Is Going To Hurt, beating Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy, Martin Freeman of The Responder, and Gary Oldman of Slow Horses. In his acceptance speech, Whishaw said he was “overwhelmed” and “honored” by the win. Joe Lycett, a Birmingham-based comedian, also won the best features category with his Channel 4 special, Joe Lycett vs Beckham: Got Your Back, where he held David Beckham to account for his support of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, a country notorious for its LGBTQ+ human rights abuses. Derry Girls, starring Nicola Coughlan as fiery lesbian Clare Devlin, won the best-scripted comedy, while The Traitors beat RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in the reality and constructed factual category.
The international category saw Ryan Murphy’s controversial Netflix series Dahmer (Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) take home the trophy against the hit Netflix show Wednesday and HBO’s The White Lotus. Dahmer stars Evan Peters as the notorious serial killer who targeted LGBTQ+ men. However, the win garnered a mixed response online.
On the other hand, the BAFTA TV Awards also had disappointments for the LGBTQ+ community. Heartstopper, the popular queer coming-of-age series, and Jack Rooke’s hit Channel 4 comedy series Big Boys lost out in their respective categories. Heartstopper was up for the most memorable moment for Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie’s (Joe Locke) first kiss but lost in a public vote to the popular Platinum Jubilee clip of the Queen meeting Paddington Bear.
However, the creators of Heartstopper and Big Boys remained gracious in their defeat. Alice Oseman gracefully accepted the defeat on her Instagram and wrote, “We may not have triumphed over Paddington and the Queen…but we still had a fun time at the BAFTAs.” Jon Pointing, who starred in Big Boys, also lost in the male performance in a comedy program category to Lenny Rush for Am I Being Unreasonable? Although he may not have won, Rooke maintained a positive spirit on social media, sharing his Marge Simpson-inspired look and thanking BAFTA & his Big Boys gang for one of the best nights of his life.
The 2023 BAFTA TV Awards celebrated exceptional TV and recognized outstanding performances in various categories. While there were some victories for the LGBTQ+ community, there were also some setbacks. Nonetheless, the event showcased the resilience and positive spirits of those who were recognized and those who were not.
Sources:
- Pink News
- RadioTimes
- Variety
- Featured image is taken from BAFTA