‘I May Destroy You’ leads BAFTA TV Awards 2021 winners

I May Destroy You was the big winner at the BAFTA TV Awards 2021 tonight (June 6), which also saw Small Axe, Normal People and This Country take home prizes.

The ceremony was hosted by Richard Ayoade for the second year in a row and broadcast online and on BBC One.

• READ MORE: I May Destroy You shows dark-skinned Black women reclaiming the Me Too movement

Michaela Coel’s 2020 drama won the awards for Mini-Series and, for Coel, Leading Actress. Those victories follow the show picking up three trophies at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards in May.

Malachi Kirby was awarded Supporting Actor for his role in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe, while Charlie Cooper was honoured with Male Performance In A Comedy Programme for This Country. In the Leading Actor category, Paul Mescal took home the trophy for Normal People.

Other winners included Inside No. 9, Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood and Diversity’s BLM-inspired Britain’s Got Talent performance.

Michaela Coel as Arabella in ‘I May Destroy You’ Credit: Natalie Seery

The BAFTA TV Awards 2021 winners are as follows:

Comedy Entertainment Programme

The Big Narstie Show

Current Affairs

America’s War On Abortion

Daytime

The Great House Giveaway

Drama Series

Save Me Too 

Entertainment Performance

Romesh Ranganathan, The Ranganation

Big Narstie

Entertainment Programme

Life & Rhymes 

Factual Series

Once Upon A Time In Iraq

Features

Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace

Female Performance In A Comedy Programme

Aimee Lou Wood, Sex Education

International

Welcome To Chechnya: The Gay Purge

Paul Mescal attends the Virgin Media British Academy Television Award 2020 at Television Centre on July 31, 2020 in London, England. Credit: David M. Benett/Getty Images

Leading Actor

Paul Mescal, Normal People

Leading Actress

Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You 

Live Event

Springwatch 2020

Male Performance In A Comedy Programme

Charlie Cooper, This Country

Mini-Series

I May Destroy You 

Charlie Cooper as Kurtan Mucklowe in ‘This Country’. Credit: BBC

News Coverage

Sky News: Inside Idlib 

Reality & Constructed Factual

The School That Tried To End Racism

Scripted Comedy

Inside No. 9

Short Form Programme

They Saw The Sun First 

Single Documentary

Locked In: Breaking The Silence (Storyville)

‘Inside No. 9’’s Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. CREDIT: BBC

Single Drama

Sitting In Limbo 

Soap & Continuing Drama

Casualty

Specialist Factual

The Surgeon’s Cut 

Sport

England V West Indies Test Cricket 

Supporting Actor

Malachi Kirby, Small Axe

Malachi Kirby CREDIT: Getty

Supporting Actress

Rakie Ayola, Anthony 

Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment

Diversity perform a routine inspired by the BLM protests, Britain’s Got Talent

Meanwhile, Coel is set to return to the BBC with another series that has potential links to I May Destroy You.

“It’s truly in Michaela’s head and it’s not for me to second guess that too much at this point. It’s at relatively early stages, but I wanted to let the fans of I May Destroy You know that there is a new show coming along,” BBC drama controller Piers Wenger said.

“What relationship that show will have with the original series, [is for Michaela to decide]. There’s a relationship between Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You. There’s a through-line to her thinking. I suspect there may be elements [of I May Destroy You] but it’s really too early to say anything specific.”

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