A night of Bafta surprises as Blue Lights wins best drama

The 2025 Bafta TV Awards produced a night full of surprises, tears, and very large glittery trousers.

- ELLIE HARRISON

Traitors US presenter Alan Cumming made his hosting debut at the ceremony, with the red carpet rolled out for the stars of the small screen at London’s Royal Festival Hall last night.

The biggest prize of the ceremony – Best Drama – went to the Northern Ireland-set police drama Blue Lights.

Written by former journalists Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, the BBC series beat out tough competition from the Hilary Mantel adaptation Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light (the favourite to take home the honour), as well as Sherwood and Supacell.

Another surprise winner was Industry star Marisa Abela, whose intense turn as Yasmin in the third series of the high-octane BBC banking drama earned her the Leading Actress award. Abela was, arguably, competing in the strongest category of the night – up against Anna Maxwell Martin (who gave the performance of her career in true-crime drama Until I Kill You) and Monica Dolan (who was as terrific as ever in Mr Bates vs the Post Office), as well as Billie Piper (Scoop), Lola Petticrew (Say Nothing), and Sharon D Clarke (Mr Loverman).

Accepting her award, a tearful Abela, 28, thanked Industry writers Konrad Kay and Mickey Down, saying: “Yasmin changed my life.” The actor added that, even though her character started off just “carrying salads” into the office, the writers had allowed Yasmin to evolve. “You wrote with such excitement and ferociousness, and it allowed me to go for it, and I thank you so, so much for that,” she said.

The prize for Leading Actor, meanwhile, went to Lennie James, 59, for his role as a gay older man in the BBC’s Mr Loverman. The star – competing against the formidable roster of Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), David Tennant (Rivals