Christine Tremarco wins for Adolescence at Sky News Live Baftas

May wonders never cease. Christine Tremarco won for Adolescence at the television Baftas last night, a result that put sky news live viewers on notice after the series had dominated awards since it first hit screens 14 months earlier.

Her win came as one of the night’s sharpest shifts. Adolescence had been winning awards since launch, but the Baftas handed Tremarco the category that had looked likeliest to stay aligned with the show’s wider run.

Adolescence and the Bafta surprise

The key fact is simple: Tremarco beat the expectation that Adolescence would keep sweeping up. The show had won everything in sight before the Baftas, making its eventual outcome less predictable than it had looked at the start of awards season.

That made this category different from a routine trophy pickup. A show that had been collecting prizes for 14 months did not walk through the television Baftas untouched, and Tremarco’s win showed that a single performance could still break through even when a programme had been the default favourite.

Rose Ayling-Ellis was part of the pressure around the night as well. Code of Silence depended on her performance, yet she was not nominated, which left the show’s recognition to come through the series itself rather than through an individual acting slot.

Comedy race split Amandaland

Katherine Parkinson won best comedy actress for Here We Go, while Amandaland won best scripted comedy. Lucy Punch lost the acting award in the comedy category, even though Jennifer Saunders and Philippa Dunne were also nominated in the same field.

That set up a clear divide between series recognition and acting recognition. The Baftas’ comedy structure gives lead acting awards only, while supporting trophies exist for drama, and Amandaland’s multiple nominees likely split the vote in a way that left Parkinson with the opening.

Code of Silence took best drama, beating expected contenders Blue Lights and A Thousand Blows. Gaza: Doctors Under Attack also remained part of the conversation around the best television of the last year, but the night’s trophy list showed that the Baftas still spread their wins beyond the most obvious frontrunners.

Code of Silence and the drama field

Code of Silence’s win mattered because the drama race had looked crowded from the start. Blue Lights and A Thousand Blows were both expected contenders, yet neither turned that expectation into the category’s top prize.

For viewers, the takeaway from the night is immediate: the Baftas did not simply reward the shows that had been winning all season. Tremarco’s result left Adolescence with a setback in one category, while Code of Silence and Here We Go found room to move ahead.