Actor Phil Davis resigns from Bafta membership in protest over ‘embarrassing’ awards ceremony

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Actor Phil Davis said he had given up his Bafta membership after it omitted ‘deserving winners speeches’ from its broadcast.

The actor of Sherlock and Quadrophenia, Phil Davis, has resigned from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) in protest of its "embarrassing" awards ceremony. The actor, who also appeared in Whitechapel, criticised the 2023 Bafta Awards for cutting acceptance speeches from their broadcast.

Revealing his decision on Twitter, Davis said he had given up his membership of Bafta, citing issues with film and TV star Bernard Cribbins being left out of the traditional in-memoriam tribute for the recently deceased.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “The BAFTA awards were an embarrassing travesty. Cutting deserving winners speeches for toe curling non interviews. Poor Richard E Grant pretending to arrive in a Batmobile and no Bernard Cribbes in memorium. I resigned my membership.”

The Telegraph reported the Batmobile segment was a comedic opening sketch in which ceremony host Grant sought advice from American actor Steve Martin before driving a Batmobile car to the awards ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

The awards were dominated by success for the German-language war film All Quiet on the Western Front, but Bafta faced criticism after its broadcast of the ceremony omitted Lesley Peterson’s acceptance speech.

Her speech was not the only omission which triggered outrage. Many have also criticised the award ceremony for failing to include The Railway Children and Dr Who star Bernard Cribbins as part of the in memoriam tribute at this year’s ceremony.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sally Thomsett, one of his Railway Children co-stars, voiced her anger on Twitter: “...have watched the Bafta’s on TV and I’m absolutely appalled that the fabulous Bernard Cribbins was not mentioned in stars that we’ve lost within the last year, they should be disgusted with themselves. Words fail me.”

In response, Bafta told The Telegraph: “Bernard Cribbins had a celebrated and hugely influential career in film and TV and is honoured on our website. Bernard will be included in our upcoming Television Awards broadcast.”

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1891
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice