The TV industry needs more diversity, “not just in front of the camera but in the writers’ rooms, in makeup vans and around tables where deals are done”, the actorSyal, who is best known for starring in Goodness Gracious Me and as one of the first British Asian people to regularly star on British TV, thanked Bafta for “seeing us” as she was accepted into the fellowship, the TV industry’s highest accolade.
“You have paved the way for so many others – seeing is believing. I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for you,” he said. The stars of British television paraded down the red carpet into the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in the glorious sunshine as crowds in London’s South Bank craned for photos.
In a tearful speech, Winslet urged “the people in power and who can make change – please criminalise harmful content … we don’t want it, we want our children back, we don’t want to lie awake terrified for our children’s mental health”.