And with that, dear friends, it is time to call it a night. Who knows how we will remember the 2023 film Baftas. Will it be the night that the UK embraced a film in German about the first world war? The night that reinforced the idea that the fastest way to win an award is to play a dead singer? The night where Alison Hammond kept asking famous people if she could come out partying with them, and they all kept saying no?
Either way, thanks for sticking with me. I’m assuming you’ve been glued to this liveblog for the last eight hours, right? Good, because I’ll be very disappointed if you haven’t. Goodnight everyone.
For some proper, actual considered analysis – and not just a man complaining about sofas for two hours straight – Peter Bradshaw has just filed his take of the night. Always very compelling reading.
It would also be foolish not to provide you with a full list of this evening's winners.
What's more, if you have just arrived and find yourself playing catch-up, our full report of the ceremony can be found below. Including news of that mix-up that wasn't televised, too.
And here's a red carpet gallery too – more and more I get the feeling that Ali Plumb's hotdog hands horrifying Jamie Lee Curtis will be the defining image of the night, but you might disagree.
Before we wrap up tonight, let’s all think very hard about what we’ve all learned. Let’s start with fashion. Here’s Lauren Cochrane's very wonderful red carpet rundown
And that’s the Baftas done for another year. A weird show, wasn’t it? It certainly kicked up a notch once it finally went live (so more of that next year please), but the focus was all over the place for the 90 minutes before that (so no sofas next year please).
As for the winners, it appears to be another eccentric Bafta showing. All Quiet on the Western Front probably won’t big at the Oscars – certainly not as big as it did here – and Elvis is unlikely to get this much love either. So the big prizes are still anyone’s guess. Let’s wait and see what happens next month.
And that’s it. The show came in on time. Take note Oscars.
All Quiet on the Western Front wins best film
Well well well. On one hand, this film came to the Baftas with the most nominations. But it still feels like a shock result, doesn’t it? Lots of muted applause in the room, and grimaces from those who travelled all the way to London to leave with nothing. However, this win comes with a bracing anti-war message that lands hard.
Catherine Zeta-Jones is here to present best film. Was she even on the red carpet? Did we miss her? Was she airdropped in? Anyway, she’s now explaining what films are.
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Cate Blanchett wins best actress
Which seems deserved, but there are a lot of gritted teeth smiles from the other nominees. Blanchett hasn’t prepared a lot either, but by this point she has won enough awards to be able to reel off a very proficient list of thank-yous in her sleep. One more award left! We can do this!
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Oh, it’s finished. Now for best actress. Taron Egerton (from the upcoming Tetris movie, which cannot possibly be a real thing), is onstage explaining what actors do.
Butler is going long with his speech too, you can tell. Everyone else has been tight and concise, but this is full Hollywood. It never ends. It will never end. I think I understand why the Baftas isn’t usually live.
He is. Ffs.
Austin Butler wins best actor
Which, I mean, what the hell? Better than Bill Nighy? Better than Paul Mescal? Better than Colin Farrell? No. If he does his acceptance speech in his Elvis voice I’m going to kick off.
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Hammond introduced Julianne Moore, who is here to explain what actors do. That’s right, it’s the best actor award!
Emma Mackey wins the rising star award
Fully nervous, and absolutely winging her speech, Mackey keeps it short and sweet. Which is great because, look everyone, Alison Hammond is back! Hooray!
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Hey, we’re live! For the first time in living memory, the Baftas we see onscreen are happening at the same time as the actual Baftas. We’re starting with the rising star award, which is sort of exciting I guess.
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Now we’re getting very edited highlights of all the other smaller awards. In brief, All Quiet on the Western Front and Elvis won everything. Oh, and Babylon won something. That big song and dance number about elephant poop would have been fully justified.
Right, I don’t know what the hell is going on now. Ginger Spice is now on the One Show sofa, because there’s some time to kill before the ceremony goes live. Loads of awards got edited out, but at least we now get to see Geri Horner tell Alison Hammond how much she likes Alison Hammond. Which is tremendous. Really wonderful. Lucky us.
Now there’s a musical number, with Little Simz and Joan Armatrading. It’s probably good – I’ve been liveblogging for so long that I’ve lost all frame of reference – but it seems like yet more filler in an already short ceremony. Twenty minutes before an award was handed out, loads of One Show bits and montages and now this. More and more, I’m convinced that this whole ceremony could be done in the form of a emailed press release.
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Edward Berger wins best director
For All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s another surprise win, judging by all the looks of barely concealed annoyance in several audience cutaway shots.
Now for Best Director. And, unless I’m wrong, all the annoying Alison Hammond segments have meant that some huge categories have been edited out of the television broadcast. Nothing for the short films, nothing for documentary, or music, or costume design, or make-up, or editing, or casting, or any of the professions that Sandy Powell mentioned in her speech for that matter. Awkward.
The Banshees of Inisherin wins Best British film
Was it, though? In a year with Aftersun and Brian and Charles? Who knows. Martin McDonagh is smart enough to point out how Irish The Banshees of Inisherin is. But the stand-in donkey was from Stoke on Trent, he says, so that counts.
Sir Patrick Stewart is onstage now, to specifically thank me for making jokes about his crotch during the red carpet. Oh wait, no, he’s just listing a bunch of adjectives about films. My mistake.
Now it’s time for the In Memoriam section. Richard E Grant gets choked up announcing it. His reasons are his own, of course, but this is a brutal montage. We’ve lost some huge names this last year.
Powell gets a standing ovation, which gives her plenty of time to show off her trousers, which are bananas. Powell says that she is the first costume designer to win a Bafta fellowship, and she makes sure to thank all the backstage people who usually get passed over during events like these. It’s sweet.
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It’s the Bafta fellowship award now, where Cate Blanchett and Martin Scorsese sing the praises of this year’s winner Sandy Powell. It’s quite rare for this award to go to a non-actor, and Powell seems to be absolutely beloved, judging by all the actors who are all giving wonky iPhone testimonials about her.
Avatar wins best visual effects
Possibly not an expected win, because Avatar’s VFX team has to walk for MILES to the stage. They have to walk so far that the applause completely dies out while they trudge down from the gods, and then only kicks back up again when they finally reach the stage.
Also, it’s worth pointing out that there are huge tracts of empty seats in the hall. Which I’m pretty miffed about, to be honest. How come they get to knock off early and I don’t?
Martin McDonagh wins best original screenplay
For The Banshees of Inisherin. Sadly uncatapulted, McDonagh has to actually clamber up onstage and accept it. Luckily he’s brief, so Alison Hammond gets another chance to sit on a sofa and shout at Dame Helen Mirren about the Queen.
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Now for best original screenplay, which they should just catapult at Martin McDonagh from the stage to free up some more time for those rubbish One Show bits.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio wins best animated feature
Guillermo del Toro accepts the award, and makes a brief but heartfelt plea for animation to be taken seriously. It’s a convincing argument, but Marcel the Shell With Shoes On probably should have won.
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More Bafta Does The One Show now. This time Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan discuss their wins, and Condon very deliberately doesn’t mention the off-screen mix-up. Condon says she’s going out to party, Keoghan says he wants to go home to his son. He’s winning me over, this chap.
Charlotte Wells wins outstanding British debut
For Aftersun. And, well, duh. There is a parallel universe – a better one – where Aftersun won everything going, and not just the debut prize. Wells seems slightly overwhelmed by the award, but takes time to mention the Turkish earthquake and mentions her father, which is apt. She’ll be back again in years to come, over and over, I’m sure.
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Jamie Lee Curtis and Anya Taylor-Joy (dressed as Sassy Teacher and Sexy C-3PO respectively) are here to present outstanding British debut. They make a Sir Patrick Stewart joke and he blanks them, which doesn’t bode well for all the dick jokes I made about him earlier.
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All Quiet on the Western Front wins best cinematography
Another award for All Quiet, and so soon. This is looking more and more like the runaway winner. James Friend hasn’t written a speech and seems genuinely shocked to have won. You would be too if you’d just beaten Roger Deakins, I guess.
Cynthia Erivo and Eugene Levy are presenting best cinematography. And Levy is good. He’s getting more laughs than anyone else so far. Which is probably a bad thing, since it invariably means that he’ll have to host next year’s ceremony now. The old Rebel Wilson trap. Schoolboy error.
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Hammond isn’t getting a word in, because Emma Thompson has taken the whole segment in her hands and run with it. Alison Hammond has been rendered mute by the sheer power of Thompson. This is unprecedented.
Meanwhile, co-host Alison Hammond is backstage, interviewing Emma Thompson and Austin Butler. Which is great, because I’ve always wondered what the Baftas would be like if they were more like The One Show.
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Barry Keoghan wins best supporting actor
A weird category this, since Keoghan was up against his Banshees of Inisherin co-star Brendan Gleeson. And Keoghan probably won it on the strength of a single scene, albeit the best scene of the entire film.
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Dame Helen Mirren is here now, and this is something obviously very important, because there is a piano playing underneath while she talks. She’s talking about the Queen’s contribution to Bafta, which is something that was probably necessary to include. That said, the piano part does sound a bit like the long theme tune that EastEnders uses on special occasions.
Kerry Condon wins best supporting actress
For The Banshees of Inisherin. Apparently in person there was an embarrassing mix-up and Carey Mulligan’s name was read out incorrectly, but this has been edited out of the television broadcast in a very clumsy way indeed. There’s likely to be more about this. I’ll pass it on when I have it.
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Next up, Troy Kotsur is here to present best supporting actress. He’s just as charming as he was during his victorious awards lap last year, except for the bit where he turns his back on Jamie Lee Curtis and makes it look as if he’s playing with himself. He has his own prop, too – another massive sausagey glove. This might just be the must-have prop of awards season 2023, you know.
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All Quiet on the Western Front wins best adapted screenplay
Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell start what might be a very busy evening for them by making a ‘don’t mention the war’ joke. It’s very sweet and weirdly curtailed.
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And now, after a needlessly long montage, we can finally begin handing out awards. First up, Viola Davis is here to present best adapted screenplay. She is reading the most boilerplate presentation imaginable, and really selling it like it’s an original thought. This, ladies and gentlemen, is acting.
The monologue ends – confusingly, with Richard E Grant just acknowledging four people in person – and now Ariana DeBose is on a stage singing what is comfortably the worst thing I have ever heard. It starts with Sisters Are Doing It fFor Themselves, and ends with We Are Family, and in the middle is a long and borderline incomprehensible semi-rapped list of all the female nominees, along with DeBose’s own personal thoughts about them as people. It is unbelievably bizarre, especially when the camera kept cutting away to all the nominees looking blankly nonplussed.
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So far, the monologue is actually pretty decent. It’s mainly about Richard E Grant and all the things that Richard E Grant has ever done, rather than any of the films that have been nominated.
Four minutes and thirty three seconds, by the way. That’s how long it took for him to do a slap joke. I was miles out. I can only apologise.
Oh. It wasn’t a cape. It was a train. And it was delaying him. It was a delayed train. Do you understand? It was wordplay. That’s why he spent close to 1% of the duration of the entire ceremony silently walking around in a cape.
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And now Richard E Grant’s in the Batmobile. And now he’s in the Royal Festival Hall wearing what looks a bit like some sort of iffy cape. Maybe this is the monologue, just him walking around in a cape.
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THE 2023 BAFTAS HAVE BEGUN
And there’s a little film where Steve Martin Skypes Richard E Grant to give him tips on hosting an awards ceremony. It’s mainly Steve Martin telling jokes and Richard E Grant nodding silently. Which doesn’t seem like the greatest show of confidence upfront, does it?
Now that the last few minutes of Countryfile are coming to an end (this week, a literal meat market, as opposed to the metaphorical one we’re about to watch), it’s finally time to settle in for the 2023 film Baftas.
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Just to liven things up, let’s play a game. When the Baftas start, when Richard E Grant walks out onstage, I’m going to start a stopwatch. I’ll stop it when he first references Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. But how long will it take? My guess is less than 90 seconds. Leave your guesses in the comments. Closest gets my eternal gratitude, in lieu of an actual prize.
I’m purposefully ignoring everything about the ceremony until it is televised, but I was just reminded of the year when the Baftas opened with a long and elaborate dance number based around First Man, a Damien Chazelle film that everyone thought would win everything and then roundly failed to get nominated for anything. Watching it, you could only assume that the Baftas got overconfident and commissioned it before the nominations were announced.
Because it might happen again. Let’s not forget that Babylon is also a Damien Chazelle film that everyone thought would win everything and then roundly failed to get nominated for anything. We might be 20 minutes away from seeing the most expensive prematurely commissioned dance number about a pooping elephant that history has ever seen.
I’m sorry for missing this, but the one true definitive red carpet look of the night has finally been revealed. Marcel for the win.
marcel the shell has arrived at bafta awards 2023! pic.twitter.com/ZVsffonJ24
— shell of a human (@clayuhunderwood) February 19, 2023
It’s always interesting to see how the nominated films were reviewed at the time of release. Sometimes an awards season favourite lands fully formed, and sometimes it needs to build up a head of steam. Tár and The Banshees of Inisherin were both obvious frontrunners, getting five and four-star reviews here, respectively. Meanwhile, Elvis only scraped a reluctant two stars. This could be because it is such an overwhelming onslaught of a film that people need time to properly absorb it to appreciate it. Or it could be because it’s a big old load of donkey cack that didn’t really deserve to be nominated. We may never know, except it’s definitely the last one.
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Also, for those of you who aren’t banking your entire Bafta experience on the lightly edited two-hour BBC broadcast, we are keeping a running tab on all the winners as they are being announced here. Alternatively, you could always experience the Baftas as nature intended, by reading a liveblog written by someone watching it on a television in his house.
One of the big unknowns about this evening, of course, is the host Richard E Grant. It’s always a big gamble to get a non-comedian in for hosting duties, especially when they have a great big monologue to fill. On the plus side, Grant is a warm and engaging presence who has the capacity to charm everyone in attendance.
But then again, he has also claimed that he is a ‘celebratory person rather than somebody who’s there to roast other actors’. And in my experience the show’s writers are probably having a nervous breakdown because he keeps rejecting all their material. It might be fine. But then again, we should probably brace ourselves for another barrage of Joanna Lumley-style anti-humour. This is the hurdle he has to clear. Surely he’s capable of that, right?
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OK, the red carpet appears to be over (although I’ll keep you updated if anyone turns up late dressed as a squirrel or anything), which means the Baftas are about to begin, which means they’ll be on TV in an hour.
So in the meantime, let me remind you of some of the wonderful coverage this publication has brought you in recent days. We should begin with a list of all the nominees for anyone playing along at home.
That said, the main draw here is always Peter Bradshaw’s predictions for the night. It’s hard to disagree with any of the calls he makes this year, plus he gives a shout out to Funny Pages, the most overlooked film of the year and something you should probably watch. Probably now, instead of the Baftas.
Here’s a fun little story that I think I’m allowed to tell. Earlier this year I went to the Top Gun: Maverick premiere, and Prince William was there. And he did this big long meet and greet with all the film’s stars, who are all American and therefore all automatically a bit iffy on the idea of a monarchy in the first place.
Anyway, during this meet and greet, Prince William kept pointing at his shoes, and the film’s cast all responded by doing this weird noncommittal ‘Oh’ face in return. This is because, it turns out, Prince William was wearing special shoes that had fighter jets embroidered on them.
Imagine that for a moment. You’ve made a film. The film is going to single-handedly revive the global theatrical experience. And here you are, in London, watching the future king of England point at his special aeroplane shoes. Like a child would. Imagine being Jon Hamm trying to think of something to say to a literal prince who is determined to show you his special little aeroplane shoes, because he thinks they will somehow delight you. Imagine it.
Anyway, Prince William is wearing normal shoes today. Good.
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Monochrome gets the royal approval on Catherine, Princess of Wales. A long white frock and elbow-length black gloves has a simplicity similar to that seen on Julianne Moore earlier in the evening.
Sci-fi fashion again, on Cynthia Erivo. The asymmetric shoulder and metallic copper finish is giving queen of an as-yet-undiscovered planet.
More underwear-as-outerwear vibes, as seen through layers and panels of lace on Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The elbow-length gloves and high bun are also good touches.
Emma Thompson all is white is a sight to behold. The addition of chunky-sole trainers and the red carpet’s lesser-spotted coat adds to the excellence of this outfit.
Here is a candid backstage moment of Cate Blanchett grabbing Austin Butler by the shoulders and yelling ‘JESUS CHRIST, STOP DOING THE BLOODY VOICE! THE FILM CAME OUT AGES AGO! YOU WERE BORN IN ANAHEIM!’ as hard as she possibly can right into his face. Possibly.
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How to keep warm and look glamorous on a February night? Wear a hood. The look – approved of by Grace Jones and Kylie Minogue long ago – is having a bit of a revival in fashion. Anna Taylor-Joy’s copper take is a case in point.
More satin, this time on Ana de Armas. The actor, who played Marilyn Monroe this year, goes for an oyster colour. Combined with the frilled bodice, it has an underwear-as-outerwear feel.
I’ll level with you here. I’m only doing this so that the people I write about will give me some attention. Ali Plumb has really come through on this front, although I will not rest until Sir Patrick Stewart has sent me a tweet thanking me for posting a picture of him aggressively pointing at his own crotch.
I could kiss you @stuheritage pic.twitter.com/97T08lUAEC
— Ali Plumb (@AliPlumb) February 19, 2023
Costume designer Sandy Powell can be relied upon to wear something jazzy on the red carpet – these zigzag trousers are a case in point. A very commendable way to go against the usual long frock conventions and still look fabulous. Bravo.
Nicola Coughlan joins the monochrome set – but brings the pattern. The 1950s style shape of this dress, and addition of cobalt blue, feels a bit mid-century modern. In a good way.
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Martin Freeman has come along in costume. The character he’s playing is called Man Who Is Acutely Aware Of All Potential Stain Sources In A 300-Metre Radius, And Is Really Trying Not To Freak Out About It.
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I have to confess that I don’t know who Tom Grennan is, or why he’s come dressed as the world’s most depressing set of AirBnB curtains. But he deserves a spot here, if only because he stands as definitive proof that the neck beard is back in vogue. This photo has saved me approximately 45 seconds of shaving a week, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.
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Another sci-fi style dress – this time with a metal corset-style feature. A good choice from Naomi Ackie. Playing Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance With Somebody, a futuristic outfit feels better than anything retro.
There’s something a bit sci-fi about this Lily James dress – with its lattice section over the neckline. That brings a bit of a different feel to what is otherwise a classic red carpet shape.
Quite a lot of the pictures currently coming in from the red carpet fall under the category of ‘Florence Pugh from every conceivable angle’. But this isn’t that sort of publication. So instead, here is my favourite outfit so far. It’s Zainab Jiwa. If we start petitioning now, we can get her installed as the next Batman by midnight.
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More purple – this time on Angela Bassett. The shade of choice this time is closer to Ultra Violet, Pantone’s colour of the year in 2018 and one still very popular in fashion circles. The sleeve details add a bit of drama – and no doubt keep her hands warm in February.
With the wardrobe of her character in Tár adored by fashion, Cate Blanchett probably had a bit of extra pressure for the red carpet this awards season. She manages it well here, with a chic black dress detailed with pearls. The blue ribbon is in support of refugees. Paul Mescal wore one, too.
One hot red carpet trend that hasn’t caught on quite as well as expected this year is aggressively pointing at your own crotch. So far, only Sir Patrick Stewart has had the brave sense of style to aggressively point at his own crotch on the red carpet. But the night is young, and history will remember Stewart as a trendsetter.
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Once again, we see Bill Nighy push the boundaries of red carpet style. This year, as you can see, he has opted to bring two full-size Bafta trophies along with him and dangle them off his wrists like a pair of genuinely ostentatious bracelets. Unwieldy? Yes. Chic? Undoubtedly.
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Hayley Atwell manages to bring two trends into one outfit – the crop top and monochrome. A classy but modern outfit – this seems to be a bit of a Baftas theme.
OK, so Paul Mescal is wearing a very nice but pretty conventional tux. It’s the hair that’s notable – perhaps the first time since the 1980s that a mullet-adjacent style has been on a red carpet.
For those of you who aren’t watching the red carpet stream, here is a shot of noted prop comic Ali Plumb accosting Jamie Lee Curtis with his massive sausagey glove. I hope he has props for all the nominated films. Or, if not, he could just take an axe to the glove and lob it at Brendan Gleeson.
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Monochrome is emerging as a theme – and Julianne Moore does the look in her usual effortlessly elegant way. The strapless black dress and fluffy stole is simple but quietly gorgeous.
An orange tulle explosion is always going to make an impact on the red carpet. Florence Pugh’s sculptural frock manages to look modern and abstract and nod to old Hollywood with its fishtail skirt. Tick tick.
He got lost in the rush, but I feel we need to single out ex-Gogglebox star Joe Baggs for attention. He has clearly come prepared to sell a number of knock-off black market pearls to the assembled celebrities, like a second world war spiv. This is the sort of enterprising spirit that we need to see more of during a cost of living crisis.
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Eddie Redmayne is sure to experiment on the red carpet. He’s taken inspiration from Harry Styles’ playbook this Baftas – by wearing what appears to be a jumpsuit. We approve.
More sheer layers – this time on Munroe Bergdorf. A bit goth, especially with the lacy sleeves, she looks like a red carpet-ready version of Morticia Addams.
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We have our first ‘wow’ of the night – Jodie Turner-Smith in layers of purple feathers. Part ballroom dancer, part violet-backed starling. Pitch perfect – and like Viola Davis, in purple.
Men on the red carpet so far have been in fairly unremarkable suits. But Ke Huy Quan switches it up just a little with the flower detail on his lapel. Add the specs and the shoes and it’s very dapper indeed.
For anyone who wants to watch the Bafta red carpet live – and surely that is all of you, because there are rumours that official co-host Ali Plumb is ambushing guests with a massive sausagey glove – then you’ll be pleased to know that it’s currently streaming on YouTube
Michelle Yeoh’s take on the mega-sleeve is classy with this outfit. She is also the first woman to be wearing a trouser suit on the Baftas red carpet this year so gets extra fashion points.
Purple isn’t often seen on red carpets – but Viola Davis probably isn’t too fussed. She wears shades of purple that Prince would approve of. The shoulder cape design is suitably regal for the Woman King star.
Floor-length black layers with old Hollywood makeup; Gwendoline Christie brings her best goth energy to the red carpet. Even Wednesday Addams would give her grudging approval to this outfit.
It’s all been very neutrals-focused until now so it’s good to see some colour on Till’s Danielle Deadwyler. Floor-length satin seems to be emerging as a trend FYI. To see it in a cobalt blue is pleasing.
No crop tops here. Ariana DeBose, of West Side Story fame, goes for layers of sheer fabric, covered in sequins. An elegant take on the naked dress trend.
It was only a matter of time – the crop top has arrived on the Bafta red carpet, courtesy of Jessica Henwick. The actor, who was in Glass Onion, follows Jamie Lee Curtis’s lead, by adding a blazer. Hers is balanced on one shoulder, however. Hey, whatever works.
And another crop top – this time worn by fashion designer Vera Wang. The combination of an asymmetric gown, shrugged-on jacket and sunglasses is very front-row ready.
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Jamie Lee Curtis makes a case for the red carpet blazer. We’re sold – especially when it’s worn with floor-length white satin, and a supermodel-worthy pose.
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Kitchen foil silver is a thing in fashion at the moment. Sheila Atim’s dress and matching gloves are glorious. Extra points for the metallic texture, and matching jewellery.
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Yvonne Orji – AKA Molly from TV series Insecure. A long sequin dress and black gloves are classic red carpet. It’s the stole and bob, not to mention the Charleston-style leg kick, that give a flapper feel.
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The Bafta red carpet begins! Influencer Andreea Cristea gets things off to a strong start, fashion-wise – with a quite extraordinary frock. Sleeves are – literally – big this season.
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Hello everyone, and welcome to the Guardian’s 2023 Bafta film award liveblog. Before we get going, I bring you both good news and bad news. The good news is that, after the almighty mess of last year’s awards season, everything seems to be back on track. The Golden Globes were on TV again this year and so far – fingers crossed! – no major awards ceremonies have been upended by one celebrity hauling themselves onstage to wallop another celebrity in the face. It’s just a nice, normal awards season, and don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
More good news: in a happy break from tradition, some of the Baftas are actually going to be broadcast live. In previous years, the ceremony happened way before the television broadcast, meaning that anyone with the internet already knew who won everything by the time it was on TV. But this year, we’re promised, the final four awards will be presented live. This will add an exciting frisson to proceedings, not least because it means I won’t be able to just copy and past the winners into the liveblog like I usually do.
But now to the bad news. It is currently 3pm GMT. We have four long hours before the Baftas will be on TV, and six before they end. That is a punishing length of time for anyone, not least the casual liveblog reader. We’re starting this early because the red carpet is starting this early, and Lauren Cochrane will be here to show you all the best and worst outfits, from the A-listers you care about (who won’t arrive on the red carpet for another two hours), and the no-marks who have sorely underestimated how boring it will be to turn up early and hang around inside the Royal Festival Hall for several hours waiting for the ceremony to start (who’ll start turning up imminently, the dummies).
So, to reiterate, the key timings:
15:30 – Red carpet opens
17:30 – Red carpet closes
18:00 – Ceremony starts in real life
19:00 – Television broadcast starts
20:45 – Live footage of the ceremony begins
21:00 – Ceremony (and TV broadcast) ends
21:01 – We all have a giant group hug for somehow getting through all this
Got that? Good. We still have plenty of time to discuss the actual nominees, so let’s start doing that in a bit. Good luck everyone!
