It was a successful night for Welsh drama In My Skin at the Bafta Television Awards as it scooped awards for Best Drama and Best Writer on Sunday, May 8. The show, which aired its second series last year, has received widespread critical acclaim for its portrayal of mental illness and sexuality. In My Skin beat off tough competition in the shape of BBC drama Vigil and ITV’s Unforgotten.
Following her first gong of the night, writer Kayleigh Llewellyn described the experience as "incredible" and looked shocked as she accepted the prestigious award. She told the audience: “My mum said that when I was little I said I was going to have a limousine, a water bed and I was going to win a Bafta. One out of three isn’t bad,” as the audience cheered her on.
Despite just missing out on the Bafta, both Vigil and Unforgotten have been recommissioned for future series.
Read more: BAFTA viewers left confused as It's A Sin clips 'muted' while fans all say the same thing
Llewellyn went on to talk about how the BBC originally picked up In My Skin as a ‘comedy-slice’ and said that they ‘didn’t flinch when [she] handed in scripts’. According to the writer, In My Skin, which stars Welsh actress Gabrielle Creevy, was “written in five weeks, shot in five weeks and shot on a budget of £500”. In her speech, she goes on to thank the team involved in the show’s production. Regarding Creevy, Llewellyn said it was a "privilege" to watch her work on In My Skin.
As fellow nominees Suranne Jones (Vigil, BBC) and Callum Scott-Howells (It’s A Sin, Channel 4) looked on, Llewellyn joked: “Please, equal opportunities for men” as she held up her newly-acquired Bafta. This wasn’t Llewellyn’s only time on the stage during the evening, she also picked up the gong for Best Writer, beating competition Jack Thorne (Help, Channel 4), Jesse Armstrong (Succession, HBO) and Russell T Davies (It's A Sin, Channel 4).
The multi-award winning In My Skin focuses on Welsh teenager Bethan (played by Creevy) who is trying to live a double life as she negotiates her mother's mental illness, friendships and her sexuality. Bethan’s mother has bipolar disorder , and is sectioned in a psychiatric ward. Meanwhile, Bethan dreams of being a writer, but attends a hostile and homophobic school. Kayleigh Llewellyn has previously talked about how the show is loosely based on her own experiences, as her own mother battled with mental health issues.
Since it’s conception in 2019, In My Skin has picked up multiple awards including Best Actress at Bafta Cymru for Gabrielle Creevy and Drama Series awards at the RTS Programme Awards. Kayleigh Llewellyn recently picked up an award at the Bafta Craft Awards, which you can read about here . Despite this - In My Skin was only ever intended as a two-part series and there are no plans for a third series of the drama.
Sunday's Bafta Television Awards were hosted by actor and comedian Richard Ayoade. Notable winners during the night included Best Actress for Jodie Comer (Help, Channel 4), who emotionally accepted the award. Emotions also ran high for presenter and rapper Big Zuu when he said that "representation is so important," after winning Best Entertainment Programme for Big Zuu's Big Eats (Dave). The night was the first public appearance of new Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa.
Watch series one and two of In My Skin on BBC iPlayer
