Channel 4's Dispatches Bafta winner
Updated on 21 April 2008
Channel 4's Dispatches wins the Bafta for current affairs with its documentary 'China's stolen children - a Dispatches special' by Jezza Neumann, Sky Zeh, Brian Woods and Kate Blewett.
Featuring access to those directly involved, the documentary reveals a China where the infamous 'One Child' policy has had the side effect of a boom in stolen children.
But it was cult BBC3 sitcom Gavin and Stacey which triumphed in a night of surprises at the TV Baftas last night.
James Corden, 29, the co-creator of Gavin and Stacey, won the Bafta for best comedy performance for his role as Smithy in the surprise hit comedy about a whirlwind romance between a boy from Billericay and a girl from Barry Island.
Gavin and Stacey also beat big-hitters like 'The Apprentice', 'Britain's Got Talent' and 'Strictly Come Dancing' for the audience award for programme of the year, the only gong of the night voted for by the public.
Gallery
Click on the image below to see all the evening's glitz and glamour in pictures.
While newcomer Corden emerged as the night's big winner at the glitzy ceremony hosted by Graham Norton, veteran actress Dame Eileen was awarded her first Bafta, at the age of 73.
She won the battle of the Dames to scoop best actress for her performance as moral guardian Miss Deborah Jenkyns in the 19th century period drama 'Cranford'.
Dame Judi Dench, also 73, had been favourite to add to her cabinet of Bafta trophies by taking the title for her performance as Dame Eileen's screen sister in the acclaimed BBC1 drama, adapted from the Elizabeth Gaskell novels.
As Dame Judi made her way up the red carpet to the London Palladium, where the awards were being held, she predicted she would not win, saying: "I put my money on Dame Eileen", jokingly adding: "They'll be a huge catfight."
Corden, who dreamt up the idea for 'Gavin and Stacey' with Fat Friends co-star Ruth Jones, beat 'The Thick of It' star Peter Capaldi, Stephen Merchant, 'Extras Christmas Special' and David Mitchell 'Peep Show' to the comedy performance gong for his role as Gavin's best friend.
He said on his way to the event; "It's great to be recognised. It's brilliant. But you can't take it too seriously. There's a chance that you think you're a bit more of a dude than you really are.
"The show isn't up for best sitcom so obviously they're a bunch of p*****.
"I can't imagine winning (the audience award) but if we did no-one will be happier then me. It's terrific."
"The show isn't up for best sitcom so obviously they're a bunch of p*****."James Corden
'Strictly Come Dancing' host Bruce Forsyth, 80, received a fellowship, the highest accolade the Bafta Academy can award, which was presented to him by Paul Merton, a panellist on 'Have I Got News for You', the show that relaunched his career.
Other winners of the night included Harry Hill, who won two Baftas: entertainment performance for Harry Hill's 'TV Burp' as well as entertainment programme for the 'ITV1 show'.
Controversially, Paul Watson, the director who hit the headlines last year over whether or not he had filmed the dying moment of Alzheimer's sufferer Malcolm Pointon in his film Malcolm and Barbara, won this year's special award.
Holby City took the battle of the soap category for the first time while US-born British actor Andrew Garfield, 24, won best Actor for his portrayal of a juvenile child killer haunted by his past in Channel 4 drama 'Boy A'.
Other first-time winners included 'Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares', which took the features category over Heston Blumenthal's TV show, and Channel 4's 'Fonejacker' for the comedy programme award.
US Sci-fi show 'Heroes' won the International category, while 'Britz', Channel 4's drama about Muslims in post 7/7 Britain, won best drama serial.
'Peep Show', on Channel 4, beat 'Benidorm', the 'IT Crowd' and 'The Thick of It' to be named best situation comedy.
'The Street', on BBC1, was named best drama series and Andrew Marr's 'History of Modern Britain', on BBC2, took the specialist factual gong.
Corden, reported to be dating singer Lily Allen, was open mouthed when it was announced that bitter".
Mike Reid, Anthony Minghella and Mark Speight were among the names in the industry who have died in the last year and were remembered at the ceremony.
The Bafta winners
The full list of winners of BAFTA awards are:
Actor: Andrew Garfield, Boy A, Channel 4
Actress: Dame Eileen Atkins, Cranford, BBC1
Entertainment performance: Harry Hill, Harry Hill's TV Burp, ITV1
Comedy performance: James Corden, Gavin and Stacey, BBC3
Single drama:The Mark of Cain, Tony Marchant, Nicola Shindler, Lynn Horsford, Marc Munden, Channel 4/Red Production Company
Drama series: The Street, Jimmy McGovern, Sita Williams, Terry McDonough, John Chapman, BBC1/Granada Productions
Drama serial: Britz, Peter Kosminsky, David Aukin, Hal Vogel, Steve Clark-Hall, Channel 4/Daybreak Pictures
Continuing drama: Holby City, Production Team, BBC1/BBC Drama Productions
International: Heroes,Tim Kring, Joe Pokaski, Paul Edwards, Dennis Hammer, BBC2/SCI FI Channel/NBC Universal Television
Factual series: The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities, Simon Ford, Rachel Innes-Lumsden, Anthony Wonke, Ines Cavill, BBC1/BBC
Specialist factual: Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr, Chris Granlund, Tom Giles, Clive Edwards, BBC2/BBC
Single documentary: Lie of the Land, Molly Dineen, Justin Krish, Catherine Bailey, Mark Frith, Channel 4/RTO Pictures
Features: Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Production Team, Channel 4/Optomen Television
Current affairs: China's Stolen Children - A Dispatches Special, Jezza Neumann, Sky Zeh, Brian Woods, Kate Blewett, Channel 4/True Vision
News coverage: Sky News - Glasgow Airport attack, Production Team, Sky News/Sky News
Sport: ITV F1 - Canadian Grand Prix Live, Neil Duncanson, Gerard Lane, Kevin Chapman, Steve Aldous, ITV1/North One Television
Interactivity: Spooks Interactive, Production Team, bbc.co.uk/Spooks/Kudos Film and Television/Hoodlum Active
Entertainment programme: Harry Hill's TV Burp, Spencer Millman, Peter Orton, Harry Hill, ITV1/Avalon Television Ltd
Comedy programme: Fonejacker, Ed Tracy, Kayvan Novak, Helen Williams, Mario Stylianides, Channel 4/Hat Trick Productions Ltd
Situation comedy: Peep Show, Sam Bain, Jesse Armstrong, Robert Popper, Becky Martin, Channel 4/Objective Productions
Sky+ Audience Award - for the programme of the year: Gavin and Stacey
