Baby Reindeer leads charge at TV Baftas with 8 nods

Mr Bates series and Slow Horses’ each got six nominations

- MAIRA BUTT

Controversial Netflix hit Baby Reindeer and ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the latter of which brought about a change in legislation, have each received multiple nominations at the Bafta TV Awards. The nominees for the best television shows of the last year were revealed yesterday.

Baby Reindeer, created by and starring Richard Gadd, dominated the list with eight nominations. Inspired by a true story, it follows the life of a comic who is relentlessly stalked and harassed. The show broke Netflix records, and also found itself at the centre of a lawsuit and ethical debate after internet sleuths said they had found the “real” Martha Scott (played by Jessica Gunning), Fiona Muir-Harvey.

It was closely followed by Rivals (starring David Tennant and adapted from a Jilly Cooper novel by the same name), Apple TV’s Slow Horses (starring Gary Oldman) and the groundbreaking Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which received six nominations each.

Mr Bates sparked a public inquiry into the fate of subpostmasters who were wrongfully accused of theft and gross misconduct after a series of computer errors. The show sparked a national conversation and inspired Adolescence writer Jack Thorne. Meanwhile, Strictly Come Dancing was snubbed in the Entertainment category, which it won last year, after a behindthe-scenes bullying scandal spearheaded by Amanda Abbington.

Here is the full list of nominations:

Leading Actor

David Tennant – Rivals

Gary Oldman – Slow Horses

Lennie James – Mr Loverman

Martin Freeman – The Responder

Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer

Toby Jones – Mr Bates vs The Post Office

Leading Actress

Anna Maxwell Martin – Until I Kill You

Billie Piper – Scoop

Lola Petticrew – Say Nothing