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2011 BAFTA TV Nominations

For the last few months, we have been running a poll on this fansite :

Should Nicola Walker be nominated for a BAFTA* for her exemplary work in Spooks Series 9?

  • 92% of you said, Yes, absolutely!
  • 7% of you said, No, it was good work, but not good enough for a BAFTA yet.
  • 1% asked, What’s a BAFTA?

(A big THANK YOU to everyone who cast a vote in this Poll!)

The 2011 BAFTA Television Awards nominees were announced on 26 April 2011. Nicola was not named as one of the nominees. There could be several reasons for this :

  • No entry was submitted for consideration by or on behalf of Nicola for Spooks Series 9
  • An entry was submitted for consideration by or on behalf of Nicola but it did not make the shortlist in the relevant category announced today.

To be up for consideration for a BAFTA in the performance category, an entry must be submitted by the actor/actress in question, or someone on his/her behalf, such as a Director or the production company. Whilst it is possible for a BAFTA member to originate the nomination process, this is rarely done, except perhaps in the case of the Fellowship (i.e. Lifetime Achievement) Award. These nominations are not generated by fans. For Nicola, she would have been eligible for a nomination in either the Lead Actress or Supporting Actress categories for Spooks Series 9. Unlike the Emmy Awards in the US, the TV BAFTAs do not have a category which rewards excellence as a guest performer in either a Drama or Comedy series. So Nicola’s guest appearances in Luther and Being Human would not have been eligible for consideration. As for her guest appearance in Law & Order : UK, that episode was broadcast in the UK on 21 March 2011, i.e. after the deadline was closed on 28 February 2011, so even if there was a category for guest performances, it would not have been eligible for consideration.

Although the BAFTA rules say that there is no entry fee for the performance categories (there is a small fee payable for submitting entries in the production categories), performers and production companies must still incur considerable expense in mounting a BAFTA campaign, from the production of copies of the submitted episodes to the BAFTA voters for consideration, meeting and greeting the voters to solicit votes, to attending the actual ceremony, dressed to the nines.

Whilst it would have been nice if Nicola did receive a nomination for her work in Spooks Series 9, we have to remember that there are many, many talented British actors and actresses who have never been nominated, or have been nominated but didn’t win an award. As long as Nicola continues to be gainfully employed, us fans would be happy for the chance to watch her on screen or listen to her dulcet tones via audio programmes.

To understand more about the BAFTA nomination and voting process, you can download a copy of the Rules and Guidelines for the British Academy Television Awards HERE.

You can view a full list of the nominees HERE.

The winners will be announced at a gala event to be held on 22nd May 2011. This event is usually televised live on British TV on the day.

*BAFTA stands for British Academy of Film and Television Arts