Awards season is kicking off, and what better way to ease the stars in than with the Critics’ Circle Film Awards, a prestigious but low-key affair at the May Fair Hotel where there is no paparazzi-filled red carpet or row of social media interviewers. Wicked star Cynthia Erivo was there for a good time, not a long time, arriving just after the ceremony started and bursting into song during her acceptance speech for the Innovation award. When Timothée Chalamet was later crowned actor of the year, he began a heartfelt tribute to Erivo, only to look up and realise she’d already left. “I wrote this sweet thing for Cynthia and she’s gone,” Chalamet said with a sigh. “Anyhow… skip, skip, skip!” Other winners included Jessie Buckley, who received the best actress award, and director Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another.
