Bafta Awards 2023: The biggest talking points, from the top winners to the mistake that was cut from the edit

That’s a wrap on the 2023 Bafta Awards – and there were certainly a few surprises this year.

The glitzy ceremony began with a high energy red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (19 February), with attendees and nominees strutting their stuff in haute couture looks.

Eddie Redmayne, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sheila Antim, and Lily James were among the best dressed, with stars such as Best Actress winner Cate Blanchett, Gwendoline Christie, and Sophie Turner wearing chic, all-black ensembles that personified gothic-chic.

This year’s ceremony was co-hosted by the somewhat incongruous duo of Richard E Grant and Alison Hammond, the latter of whom said she felt like a “competition winner” herself when she was on stage.

The night’s big winners included Irish dark comedyThe Banshees of Inisherin and Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front.

Austin Butler’s Best Actor win was possibly among the night’s biggest curveballs, since the Elvis actor was nominated alongside The Whale star Brendan Fraser, The Banshees of Inisherin’s Colin Farrell, and Living’s Bill Nighy.

Here are the biggest talking points from the night:

A terrific night for Irish talent

Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin won four trophies, including one for Outstanding British Film (a category title that the Irish crew balked at). Its stars Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon won in the Best Supporting categories, and McDonagh also took home an award for Best Original Screenplay.

Northern Ireland film An Irish Goodbye also won Best British Short for its story of two estranged brothers who come together after their mother’s death.

Not so quiet on the western front

It was a record-breaking night for anti-war epic All Quiet on the Western Front, which became the most celebrated foreign language film in the organisation’s history with seven wins.

The movie now has the highest number of Baftas for a foreign language film, a record previously held by Italian coming-of-age drama Cinema Paradiso, which claimed five in 1988.

The Independent’s film critic Clarisse Loughrey is pleased that the movie is causing chaos this awards season.

open image in gallery

The Princess of Wales’ outfit caused a stir

Kate Middleton opted to rework the same one-shoulder Alexander McQueen gown she wore to the 2019 ceremony. This time, she included cascading shoulder embellishments and black velvet gowns, as she walked the red carpet alongside her husband, the Prince of Wales.

In addition to being lauded for recycling her outfits in true sustainable fashion, Kate also proved she knows a good bargain when she sees one. The princess paired her elegant outfit with £18 floral chandelier earrings from high-street brand Zara, causing a frenzy on social media.

A nervous but endearing host

The lovely Richard E Grant took over hosting duties from Rebel Wilson, and my goodness, the man was nervous. His hands were trembling, and at one point he accidentally referred to himself as the night’s toast, rather than its host. Nice to a fault, he opted to avoid making any jokes at the expense of the stars in attendance, and he was seen welling up as introduced the In Memoriam segment. Someone give this guy a bear hug.

open image in gallery

The mistake that didn’t make the edit

She Said star Carey Mulligan was incorrectly named winner of the Best Supporting Actress award, in a gaffe that was cut out of the BBC One broadcast.

Last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner, CODA star Troy Kotsur, presented the award using sign language.

While Kotsur was signing that Banshees of Inisherin actor Kerry Condon had won, the sign language interpreter mistakenly said the name Carey Mulligan. As the interpreter put it himself, this was a bad moment.

Read the full list of winners here and a review of the ceremony here.