2025 BAFTA Awards - Feb. 16, 2025

David Tennant is set to make a BAFTA double and return as host of the British Academy’s next film awards.

After hosting the 77th BAFTAs earlier this year, the “Doctor Who” and “Good Omens” star — recently seen in the hit Disney+ show “Rivals” — will be back on stage at the 78th awards, to be held on Feb. 16 2025 at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

“We couldn’t be happier that David Tennant is returning to host the EE BAFTA film awards in 2025,” said BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip. “He is an absolute pleasure to work with, and his performance this year was simply outstanding – warm, witty, whip-smart, and with a delightful touch of mischief. It is a privilege to share Britain’s biggest celebration of film with TV audiences worldwide, and to recognise the extraordinary creativity of those who power the British and global film industry.”

The BAFTA ceremony — which was watched by more than 3.8 million viewers last time — will be broadcast on the BBC in the U.K. and Britbox in the U.S. and Australia, which further international networks yet to be announced.

The British Academy has unveiled the results of the first round of voting across all 25 categories for the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, with two very different thrillers leading the pack of longlisted features.

Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish-language music thriller that was picked up by Netflix in Cannes, has emerged ahead of the race with slots in 15 categories, including best film, director, leading actress and three in the supporting actress list. Meanwhile “Conclave,” Focus Features’ Papal mystery-thriller from Edward Berger set within the Vatican, has 14, including best film, director and leading actor for Ralph Fiennes.

Further down, a tight pack of films includes “The Substance,” “The Brutalist” and “A Complete Unknown” on 11 lists, “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” on 10 and “Anora” and “Gladiator 2” on nine. All, with the exception of “Gladiator 2,” are on the best film longlist. Ridley Scott’s epic return to the coliseum also missed out on best director and leading man, although Denzel Washington — who has never been BAFTA-nominated before — did get a supporting actor slot.

There should be cheers from Belfast, with “Kneecap” — the raucous Irish-language music biopic that’s easily among the smallest films competing in terms of budget — managing to keep up with major studio titles, landing seven longlist slots including best film. It was also a good day at the office for “The Apprentice,” which appeared in six categories, including best film and leading actor for Sebastian Stan.