Britain’s biggest film night is being hosted by none other than Tennant himself.

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Friday, 05 January 2024 at 10:05 AM


It’s the biggest night for British film in the calendar and, like clockwork, the BAFTA Film Awards are returning to Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London with a very special host.

Fresh off the back of the success of his return to Doctor Who, David Tennant will be hosting this year’s BAFTAs, which will likely be another evening of unforgettable accolades recognising the stellar film talent of the past year.

Of course, Tennant was most recently on our screens as the Fourteenth Doctor in the very special slate of Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary episodes, where he surprisingly “bigenerated” with Fifteenth Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa. While there are “no plans” for Fourteen to return to the Whoniverse, Tennant will be returning to our screens in this exciting new presenting capacity.

Aside from Doctor Who, Tennant is known for his starring roles in Prime Video’s Good Omens, Broadchurch and in theatre productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Richard II, Hamlet, and, currently, Macbeth.

This marks the first time the Scottish actor has presented the inaugural honours event and commenting on the announcement of the news, Tennant said: “I am delighted to have been asked to host the EE BAFTA Film Awards and help celebrate the very best of this year’s films and the many brilliant people who bring them to life.”

More recently, Tennant became the talk of last year’s BAFTA TV Awards when he and Catherine Tate jointly presented the award for Features.

During the preamble before the presentation, fans of Tennant were shocked to learn that the acclaimed actor has never received a BAFTA nomination.

While Tennant has been nominated for BAFTA Scotland and Wales, he has not received a nomination from the main BAFTAs. Well, while this isn’t a nomination, fans of the actor will undoubtedly be excited about his new BAFTA news.

Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), The Doctor (David Tennant) and Mel (Bonnie Langford) in Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special, The Giggle.
Doctor Who – The Giggle.
BBC Studios

Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA, also said: “We are over the moon that David Tennant will be our host for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards. He is deservedly beloved by British and international audiences, alike.

“His warmth, charm and mischievous wit will make it a must-watch show next month for our guests at the Royal Festival Hall and the millions of people watching at home.

“The EE BAFTA Film Awards recognise exceptional films and the talented people who make them. More than 7500 of our BAFTA members – creatives from all corners of the British and global film industry – have been voting over the holidays and we will be publishing their chosen longlists later today.

“We hope it will inspire people to watch more films and encourage everyone to join in the conversation on who should win a BAFTA next month.”

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As for who will be taking home the coveted awards and what could be in store this year, the longlists for all 24 categories of the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2024 will be announced later today (5th January) at midday.

That means, we’ll soon find out who is in the running for categories like Best Film, Director, Cinematography, Casting, Documentary, Film Not in the English Language and more.

The nominations themselves will then be announced via livestream on Thursday 18th January by former EE Rising Star Award nominees Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

The big event itself, which Tennant will be at the helm of, will be held at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday 18th February, being broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK.