British TV series I May Destroy You and its director Michaela Coel won a slew of awards at the annual Bafta TV Awards on Sunday for its depiction of a young black writer piecing her life back together after suffering a sexual assault.
The 12-episode series broadcast last summer on the BBC and HBO tells the story of Arabella, whose sexual assault occurs while she is celebrating at a London bar with friends.
On Sunday it was garlanded with the best mini-series and editing awards, with Coel herself taking best leading actress, director and drama writer.
Coel paid particular tribute to Ita O'Brien, the show's "intimacy director".
She said O'Brien was crucial to "making the space safe for creating physical, emotional, and professional boundaries so that we can make work about exploitation, loss of respect, about abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process".
The intimacy director role is "essential for every production company that wants to make work exploring themes of consent", Coel said.
Held partly online with a scattering of live audience, the ceremony left acclaimed Netflix series The Crown empty-handed.
The fictionalised account of the modern British royal family, which swept the board at the Golden Globes earlier this year, had been nominated for four categories, including Helena Bonham Carter for best supporting actress as Princess Margaret.
Other big winners on the night included Irish actor Paul Mescal, who took home the best leading actor award for his role in popular BBC drama Normal People.
See the full list of winners from the Bafta TV Awards 2021:
Comedy Entertainment Programme
Charlie Brooker’s Antiviral Wipe
Rob & Romesh Vs
The Big Narstie Show – WINNER
The Ranganation
Current Affairs
America’s War On Abortion (Exposure) – WINNER
Italy's Frontline: A Doctor's Diary (BBC)
The Battle for Hong Kong (Dispatches)
The Cyprus Papers Undercover (Al Jazeera Investigations)
Daytime
Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On
Richard Osman’s House of Games
The Chase
The Great House Giveaway – WINNER
Drama Series
Gangs of London
I Hate Suzie
Save Me Too – WINNER
The Crown
Entertainment Performance
Adam Hills
Bradley Walsh
Claudia Winkleman
David Mitchell
Graham Norton
Romesh Ranganathan – WINNER
Entertainment Programme
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
Life & Rhymes – WINNER
Strictly Come Dancing
The Masked Singer
Factual Series
Crime & Punishment
Hospital
Losing It: Our Mental Health Emergency
Once Upon a Time in Iraq – WINNER
Features
Big Zuu’s Big Eats
Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace – WINNER
Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
The Repair Shop
Female Performance in a Comedy Programme
Aimee Lou Wood – Sex Education – WINNER
Daisy Haggard – Breeders
Daisy May Cooper – This Country
Emma Mackey – Sex Education
Gbemisola Ikumelo – Famalam
Mae Martin – Feel Good
International
Little America
Lovecraft Country
Unorthodox
Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge (Storyville) – WINNER
Leading Actor
John Boyega – Small Axe
Josh O'Connor – The Crown
Paapa Essiedu – I May Destroy You
Paul Mescal – Normal People – WINNER
Shaun Parkes – Small Axe
Waleed Zuaiter – Baghdad Central
Leading Actress
Billie Piper – I Hate Suzie
Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People
Hayley Squires – Adult Material
Jodie Comer – Killing Eve
Letitia Wright – Small Axe
Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You – WINNER
Live Event
Life Drawing Live!
Springwatch 2020 – WINNER
The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
The Third Day: Autumn
Male Performance in a Comedy Programme
Charlie Cooper – This Country – WINNER
Guz Khan – Man Like Mobeen
Joseph Gilgun – Brassic
Ncuti Gatwa – Sex Education
Paul Ritter – Friday Night Dinner
Reece Shearsmith – Inside No.9
Mini-Series
Adult Material
I May Destroy You – WINNER
Normal People
Small Axe
News Coverage
BBC News at Ten: Prime Minister Admitted to Intensive Care
Channel 4 News: Deterring Democracy
Newsnight: Covid Care Crisis
Sky News: Inside Idlib – WINNER
Reality & Constructed Factual
MasterChef: The Professionals
Race Across the World
The School That Tried to End Racism – WINNER
The Write Offs
Scripted Comedy
Ghosts
Inside No. 9 – WINNER
Man Like Mobeen
This Country
Short Form Programme
CripTales
Disabled Not Defeated: The Rock Band with Learning Disabilities
The Main Part
They Saw the Sun First – WINNER
Single Documentary
American Murder: The Family Next Door
Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism & Me
Locked In: Breaking The Silence (Storyville) – WINNER
Surviving Covid
Single Drama
Anthony
BBW (On The Edge)
Sitting in Limbo – WINNER
The Windermere Children
Soap & Continuing Drama
Casualty – WINNER
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Hollyoaks
Specialist Factual
Extinction: The Facts
Putin: A Russian Spy Story
The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty
The Surgeon’s Cut – WINNER
Sport
Bahrain Grand Prix
England V France: The Final of Autumn Nations Cup
England V West Indies Test Cricket – WINNER
London Marathon 2020
Supporting Actor
Kunal Nayyar – Criminal: UK
Malachi Kirby – Small Axe – WINNER
Michael Sheen – Quiz
Micheal Ward – Small Axe
Rupert Everett – Adult Material
Tobias Menzies –The Crown
Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter – The Crown
Leila Farzad – I Hate Suzie
Rakie Ayola – Anthony – WINNER
Siena Kelly – Adult Material
Sophie Okonedo – Criminal: UK
Weruche Opia – I May Destroy You
