There was an Irish flavour to last night’s BAFTA Television Award winners, as Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters and the final series of Channel 4’s Derry Girls took home major honours.

Both series claimed two gongs apiece, with Bad Sisters landing the Best Drama Series accolade ahead of BBC One crime dramas The Responder and Sherwood.

The black comedy centres on a group of Irish sisters who find themselves at the centre of a life insurance investigation after the mysterious death of their cruel brother-in-law.

Additionally, Anne-Marie Duff made it third time lucky at BAFTA as she took home Best Supporting Actress for her performance as fragile housewife Grace Williams.

For its swansong series, Derry Girls clinched Best Scripted Comedy ahead of new sitcoms Big Boys and Am I Being Unreasonable?, while cast member Siobhán McSweeney won Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her scene-stealing turn as strict nun Sister Michael.

Fellow Channel 4 production I Am Ruth also enjoyed a terrific evening by landing two accolades, including the Best Single Drama prize.

Additionally, high-profile star Kate Winslet added a first BAFTA television award to her hat-trick of previous wins in film by taking home the Leading Actress gong for her powerful performance as Ruth, a mother trying to help her depressed daughter overcome her social media obsession.

Winslet prevailed in a powerhouse category that included Maxine Peake (Anne), Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie Too) and Imelda Staunton (The Crown).

During her speech, she paid tribute to her co-star and real-life daughter Mia Threapleton.

Meanwhile, Ben Whishaw overcame strong competition from the likes of Martin Freeman (The Responder), Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and Gary Oldman (Slow Horses) to win Leading Actor for his turn as Dr. Adam Kay in BBC One’s This is Going to Hurt.

This was Whishaw’s third success at BAFTA, after previous recognition for The Hollow Crown in 2013 and A Very English Scandal in 2019.

However, the NHS-based programme surprisingly lost out on the Best Mini-Series award, which was given to the music-based BBC Three drama Mood.

Elsewhere, Adeel Akhtar scored a second BAFTA success for his memorable supporting turn as vulnerable killer Andy Fisher in Sherwood, and referenced the uptick in diverse winners during his speech.

One of the most popular wins of the night came in the Male Comedy Performance category, as teenage star Lenny Rush prevailed for his hysterical role as wise youngster Ollie in the BBC One sitcom Am I Being Unreasonable?.

BBC One’s The Traitors also enjoyed a terrific evening by landing two wins, including the Reality & Constructed Factual prize.

Additionally, host Claudia Winkleman scooped the Entertainment Performance gong for her presenting, with victory coming at the expense of previous category winners Mo Gilligan, Lee Mack and Big Zuu.

In contrast, the International category produced an uneasy choice, as the controversial Netflix miniseries Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story triumphed over the likes of The Bear, Wednesday and The White Lotus.

Meanwhile, Paddington Bear’s memorable tea sketch with the late Queen Elizabeth II during the Platinum Jubilee: Party At The Palace celebrations was the recipient of the P&O Cruises Memorable Moment award.

The comforting scene overcame stern competition from other landmark television moments from 2022 including Derry Girls, Heartstopper and Stranger Things.

 

The rest of the notable winners on the night included Casualty (Soap & Continuing Drama), The Masked Singer (Entertainment Programme), Friday Night Live (Comedy Entertainment Programme), Libby, Are You Home Yet? (Factual Series), The Real Mo Farah (Single Documentary), and UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 (Sport).

 

Finally, the BAFTA Fellowship was presented to British-Asian actress and writer Meera Syal in recognition of her outstanding achievement within television over the past three decades.

During her speech, the Wolverhampton-born comedian placed a bindi on her award, saying that it represented change.

 

The full list of TV BAFTA winners are…

BEST DRAMA SERIES
BAD SISTERS

BEST MINI-SERIES
MOOD

BEST SINGLE DRAMA
I AM RUTH

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, I AM RUTH

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Ben Whishaw, THIS IS GOING TO HURT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne-Marie Duff, BAD SISTERS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Adeel Akhtar, SHERWOOD

BEST SCRIPTED COMEDY
DERRY GIRLS

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME
Siobhán McSweeney, DERRY GIRLS

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME
Lenny Rush, AM I BEING UNREASONABLE?

BEST SOAP & CONTINUING DRAMA
CASUALTY

BEST INTERNATIONAL
DAHMER – MONSTER: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY

BEST DAYTIME PROGRAMME
THE REPAIR SHOP: A ROYAL VISIT

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
THE MASKED SINGER

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE
Claudia Winkleman, THE TRAITORS

BEST COMEDY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE

BEST FACTUAL SERIES
LIBBY, ARE YOU HOME YET?

BEST SINGLE DOCUMENTARY
THE REAL MO FARAH

BEST FEATURES
JOE LYCETT VS BECKHAM: GOT YOUR BACK AT XMAS

BEST REALITY & CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL
THE TRAITORS

BEST SPECIALIST FACTUAL
RUSSIA 1985-1999: TRAUMAZONE

BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS
CHILDREN OF THE TALIBAN

BEST NEWS COVERAGE
CHANNEL 4 NEWS: LIVE IN KYIV

BEST LIVE EVENT
PLATINUM JUBILEE: PARTY AT THE PALACE

BEST SPORT
UEFA WOMEN’S EURO 2022

BEST SHORT FORM PROGRAMME
HOW TO BE A PERSON

P&O CRUISES MEMORABLE MOMENT
PLATINUM JUBILEE: PARTY AT THE PALACE (Paddington meets The Queen)