The BAFTA TV Awards 2026 in London marked a record-breaking night for Netflix’s Adolescence, with the series emerging as the most awarded title of the ceremony and cementing its status as one of the platform’s most significant English-language successes.
Stephen Graham finally secured the coveted Leading Actor award after eight previous nominations across television and film, completing a long pursuit of BAFTA recognition. The win came as part of an extraordinary sweep for Adolescence, which also took home the Limited Drama prize and saw supporting actor Owen Cooper and supporting actress Christine Tremarco recognised for their performances. The series, co-created by Graham and writer Jack Thorne, has already enjoyed a remarkable awards run, including wins at the Emmys, Golden Globes, Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, and earlier recognition at the BAFTA Craft Awards, reinforcing its global critical momentum.
Held at London’s Royal Festival Hall and hosted by comedian Greg Davies, the ceremony brought together a high-profile line-up of talent from across British and international television, including Colin Firth, Aimee Lou Wood, Taron Egerton and Matt Smith. The night reflected the continued strength of both traditional broadcasters and streaming platforms, with BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors and Prime Video’s Last One Laughing also securing multiple wins across major categories.
Steve Coogan added to the night’s highlights by winning Actor in a Comedy for How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)?, while Apple TV+’s The Studio claimed Best International, with Seth Rogen dedicating the award to Catherine O’Hara. In drama categories, Code Of Silence was named Drama Series, while EastEnders continued its long-running success by winning in the Soap category.
In factual programming, Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz took Specialist Factual, while VE Day 80: A Celebration To Remember won Live Event Coverage. Channel 4’s Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which had previously been dropped by the BBC before being aired by Channel 4, won the Current Affairs category, adding to ongoing debate over editorial responsibility in public service broadcasting.
Other winners included The Celebrity Traitors for Reality, Last One Laughing for Entertainment, Crongton for Children’s Scripted, World.War.Me for Children’s Non-Scripted, See No Evil for Factual Series, Hustle and Run for Short Form, Go Back To Where You Came From for Factual Entertainment, Scam Interceptors for Daytime, and Channel 4 News: Israel-Iran: The Twelve Day War for News Coverage. The Special Award went to Martin Lewis, while the BAFTA Fellowship was awarded to Mary Berry, rounding off a ceremony that highlighted both established icons and emerging creative forces across British television.
