Was gritty police show Happy Valley snubbed at the TV Bafta Awards last night after it lost out to gangland thriller Top Boy for the Best Drama gong? Some at the glittering Bafta after-show party certainly thought so.
But Happy Valley’s star Sarah Lancashire didn’t seem to care.
The 59-year-old, who took home the award for Leading Actress for her portrayal of West Yorkshire police officer Catherine Cawood, was in a jubilant and occasionally even tearful mood last night.
Held at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the after-show party is one of the hottest tickets in the British TV industry’s calendar.
And as guests tucked into a main course of roast chicken or cauliflower, croquettes and salad, Ms Lancashire was practically mobbed by her supporters.
Sarah Lancashire scooped the Leading Actress Award for her role in Happy Valley
Sarah Lancashire was joined at the party by her best friend and on-screen sister, actress Siobhan Finneran, who was centre of attention on the dancefloor
Later, on the light-up dancefloor at the back of the function hall, her best friend and on-screen sister, actress Siobhan Finneran, 58, was the centre of attention as she let loose and danced while swigging casually from an open bottle of beer.
Both from Oldham, Manchester, the women have been friends for nearly 50 years, and although Finneran, also star of Downton Abbey, missed out on the Supporting Actress gong, she was out celebrating her best friend’s achievement.
Fellow acting giant Brian Cox was not in so celebratory a mood, though, as he was beaten in the Leading Actor category by Timothy Spall, who won his first Bafta age 67, after previous nominations, for his role in the BBC hit, The Sixth Commandment.
While Spall was nowhere to be seen at the party, Cox was sitting at the edge of the room with his wife Nicole and his Succession co-star, Dame Harriet Walter.
Cox, who was nominated for his role as patriarch Logan Roy in the HBO hit, made an effort to leave at 10pm, even putting his wife’s shawl on her shoulders, but was repeatedly stopped by adoring fans who wanted to take selfies.
Meanwhile Bobby Brazier, 20, who was runner-up on last year’s Strictly Come Dancing, told the Mail that rumours he is dating his EastEnders co-star Jazzy Phoenix, 23, were categorically untrue.
Instead, he appeared to be locked in conversation with Married At First Sight star Ella Morgan, 29. At a table surrounded by glittering guests, the pair appeared to only have eyes for each other as they sat alone.
Not far behind them was The Traitors winner, Harry Clark, who was approached by various industry figures throughout the night.
He told the Mail that his future plans were to stay in reality television rather than head down the presenting route, but he is expected to remain a familiar face at these events.
Over raspberry pudding and an endless supply of £50 Taittinger Champagne, members of the cast of Netflix’s royal saga The Crown chatted to the stars of Top Boy, which documents the hardships and violence of life on a London council estate.
And later in the night, cocktails emerged and guests were treated to a choice of a Rhubarb Fool cocktail, a Melon Margarita or a Jasmine Spritz made from a fusion of tea, white rum and Aperol.
Meanwhile, Dominic West, 54, who stars as Prince Charles in The Crown, sat next to Khalid Abdalla, 43, who plays the man with whom Princess Diana spent her final hours, Dodi Fayed.
Helena Bonham Carter, 57, cut a stylish figure in a Vivienne Westwood floral gown paired with dark-tinted sunglasses. She lost out in the Leading Actress category for her role in the biopic Nolly, but still happily played host to fellow guests by re-filling wine glasses, accompanied by her art historian boyfriend Rye Dag Holmboe, 36.
By contrast, Hannah Waddingham, 49, hid all night in the darkest corner of the room and did not leave her seat, while a number of A-listers – including Dame Harriet Walter – picked their way through the tables to pay her a visit.
Hannah Waddingham left viewers in hysterics as she jokingly took a swig from her hip-flask after hearing she’d lost out on the Entertainment Bafta to Strictly Come Dancing
Hannah Waddingham (right) hid all night in the darkest corner of the room while a number of A-listers came to chat to her, including Dame Harriet Walter (left)
The women became close in 2020 after Dame Harriet, 73, starred alongside Waddingham in the hit HBO series Ted Lasso.
Earlier in the night Waddingham was declared an ‘icon’ by viewers watching the Bafta ceremony at home when she jokingly took a swig from her hip-flask after hearing she’d lost out on the Entertainment Bafta to Strictly Come Dancing.
Her table was hidden behind tables dominated by a rather raucous contingent from the spy thriller Slow Horses, which was nominated for two Baftas last night but came home empty-handed.
Acting legends and stars of the show Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, 63, and Jonathan Pryce, 76, talked quietly together at one of the tables.
Later Dame Kristin grabbed daytime TV star Lorraine Kelly, 64, to congratulate her on winning the Special Award for an outstanding contribution to the television industry.
Dame Kristin then called a car shortly afterwards and made a ‘French exit’ from the bash, while Lorraine rallied her ITV team for a picture on the terrace overlooking the Thames: a souvenir of an evening on which the industry let its hair down and celebrated its award winners, some more surprising than others.