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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Katherine Heslop

BAFTAs 2022 host Richard Ayoade's famous wife and link to acting dynasty

BAFTAs host Richard Ayoade is known to many for his iconic role as awkward genius Moss in Channel 4 comedy The IT Crowd.

The funnyman, 44, who has now presented the glitzy awards bash three times, is also a director and TV presenter, appearing on shows such as Travel Man and The Crystal Maze.

But Richard is connected to an acting dynasty through his marriage to Lydia Fox, with whom he shares three children.

Lydia is the sister of former Lewis actor and now anti-vaxx campaigner Laurence, and actor Jack, who plays the villainous Edward Denham in period drama Sanditon, a second season of which has just aired on American channel PBS.

Richard Ayoade presenting the 2022 BAFTAs (BBC)

Her cousin Emilia is regular face on TV, most particularly known for long-running BBC show Silent Witness.

Emilia's younger brother Freddie is also an actor, having appeared in Russell T Davies' shows Banana and Cucumber and more recently crime drama White House Farm.

Lydia is the daughter of actor James Fox and niece of A Bridge Too Far performer Edward Fox.

According to IMDB, Lydia has had parts in films The Souvenir: Part II and The Souvenir, as well as Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Holby City.

Richard and Lydia on the red carpet (Getty Images)
Richard and his wife Lydia at the BAFTAs on Sunday (Ash Knotek/REX/Shutterstock for BAFTA)

Richard met Lydia while studying law at Cambridge University. He was president of the drama club Footlights in his college, which is known for being a launch pad for successful performers, such as Miriam Margolyes, Downton's Dan Stevens and Sandi Toksvig.

The couple met following a performance where Lydia was in the audience and Richard was on stage.

Hosting the BAFTAs, the Submarine director couldn't resist the opportunity to make a savage dig at Will Smith's now-infamous Oscars slap.

Laurence Fox is Richard's brother-in-law (BBC)

It comes after Hollywood actor Will strode on stage and whacked Chris Rock across the face after the comedian made a 'GI Jane' joke aimed at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Jada suffers from alopecia, which Chris later claimed to have not have known at the time he made the joke.

Will went on to win an Academy Award for his role in King Richard, but later apologised for his behaviour and resigned from Hollywood's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Actress Emilia Fox is a cousin of Richard Ayoade's wife (WireImage)
Freddie Fox, a cousin of Lydia Fox (STUART WOOD)

Taking to the stage this evening in London for the TV BAFTAs as the ceremony celebrates its 75th year, host Richard quipped: "In 1955 there were only six categories, there was barely enough time to get up from your seat and slap someone before the whole ceremony would be over.

As the audience laughed, Richard continued: "But do not worry your overly-filmed heads, I’m not going to use your faces as punchlines or punchbags – you’ve suffered enough. No one works harder than us, apart from people in other professions.

"I’m putting in a couple of hours today, I’m exhausted."

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