BBC’s crime drama Peaky Blinders upstaged Netflix’s The Crown to win the Bafta Television Award for best drama series, The Guardian reported. Set in 1920s England in the aftermath of World War I, Peaky Blinders traces the exploits of the notorious Shelby crime family.
The Crown’s lead actor Claire Foy also missed the best actress award, which went to Molly Windsor for her performance in the BBC drama Three Girls. The awards were handed out on Sunday at a ceremony in London hosted by Sue Perkins.
In the only win for Netflix this year, Vanessa Kirby was awarded best supporting actress for her portrayal of Princess Margaret in The Crown. Launched in 2016, The Crown is based on the life and reign of United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II. The drama was nominated in four categories at the BAFTA television awards in 2017, but failed to win an award. It was nominated in three categories this year.
Perkins addressed The Crown’s pay dispute with a quip: “I don’t want to ignore the elephant in the room but on such an occasion I think it would be crass to discuss my fee. But let me say I’ll just be putting in half the effort.”
Sean Bean won the best actor award for Broken, and Brian F O’Byrne was awarded best supporting actor for his performance in Little Boy Blue. The award for female performance in a comedy programme went to Daisy May Cooper for mockumentary sitcom This Country. Toby Jones won the award for male performance in a comedy programme for BBC’s Detectorists.
This Country, which traces the everyday lives of two young people living in a small village, also won the trophy for Best Scripted Comedy. Three Girls won the award for best miniseries, and The Handmaid’s Tale was named best international series. Three Girls is based on the Rochdale child sex abuse ring, in which teenage girls were groomed, sexually abused and trafficked by a group of nine men.
The Handmaid’s Tale is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, which traces a dystopian future where women called Handmaids are stripped off all rights and forced to bear children for the ruling class.
BBC Studios’ documentary Basquiat: Rage to Riches, about American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, won the trophy in the specialist factual category, beating David Attenborough’s marine life series Blue Planet II.