Awards season is once again in full swing as the annual BAFTA Awards return to London’s Royal Festival Hall for 2026, ushering in the glitz, glamour and razor-sharp British wit we’ve come to expect from one of film’s most prestigious nights.
Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the ceremony marks its 79th year celebrating the very best in global cinema.
A reliable mix of Hollywood heavyweights and royalty, the BAFTAs are never short on star power. Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, made their highly-anticipated return to the awards ceremony this year after a three-year hiatus following Kate’s cancer diagnosis and treatment.
It’s a fiercely competitive year for the awards, with One Battle After Another leading the pack with 14 nominations, closely followed by Sinners with 13, and both Marty Supreme and Hamnet each earning 11 nods across major categories. The Best Film shortlist features Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value and Sinners, highlighting a year rich in both large-scale storytelling and deeply personal cinema.
How To Watch The 2026 BAFTA Awards
In Australia, the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards were streamed live on HBO Max on Monday 23 February 2026. The ceremony’s red carpet coverage started early in the morning (from around 4:47 am AEDT), with the main awards show beginning at about 6:02 am AEDT for local viewers. A replay of the BAFTAs is also available on HBO Max after the live broadcast for subscribers to watch on demand.
Who Hosted The BAFTA Awards?
For 2026, the BAFTA Film Awards were hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming, taking the reins from previous host David Tennant.
Cumming is best known for his scene-stealing role as the sharp, flamboyant political strategist Eli Gold in The Good Wife as well as Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United. More recently, he’s found a new wave of fans as the mischievous host of The Traitors.
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