Entertainment

Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off snubbed by TV Baftas

Former Strictly champion Ore Oduba said he was shocked to discover the popular show had not received any nominations this year.
Former Strictly champion Ore Oduba said he was shocked to discover the popular show had not received any nominations this year. Former Strictly champion Ore Oduba said he was shocked to discover the popular show had not received any nominations this year.

Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off have been snubbed in this year’s TV Baftas.

Both hit shows have been nominated several times in the past.

Dramas absent from this year’s Bafta list include thriller Doctor Foster, with Suranne Jones, which aired on BBC One.

And EastEnders does not get a nod in the soap category.

The judges and presenters for The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4)
The judges and presenters for The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4) The judges and presenters for The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4/PA)

The Great British Bake Off aired on Channel 4 for the first time last year, with new hosts Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding, and Prue Leith joining Paul Hollywood as judge.

Former Strictly champion Ore Oduba said he was shocked to discover – just before he revealed the list of nominees at a Bafta press conference – that Strictly had been snubbed.

The BBC One show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, was absent from the entertainment programme category, despite notching up huge viewing figures last year.

Instead, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice and Michael McIntyre’s Big Show are up for best entertainment show.

Oduba, who announced the Bafta nominations with actress Michelle Keegan, told the Press Association: “It was a big shocker because that series was … one of the best-watched shows … in the history of Strictly.”

Ore Oduba and Michelle Keegan announce the nominations for the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards at Bafta in London (Ian West/PA)
Ore Oduba and Michelle Keegan announce the nominations for the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards at Bafta in London (Ian West/PA) Ore Oduba and Michelle Keegan announce the nominations for the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards at Bafta in London (Ian West/PA)

Our Girl actress Keegan added: “We saw that before we went on stage. We read it and went ‘Strictly’s not on the cards’. We were really shocked.”

Oduba, who won Strictly in 2016, said of axed professional dancer Brendan Cole: “The guy was such a huge part of that show and he’ll leave a big hole. But the show evolves and it has to.

Doctor Foster star Suranne Jones (Ian West/PA)
Doctor Foster star Suranne Jones (Ian West/PA) Doctor Foster star Suranne Jones (Ian West/PA)

“In the wake of not being announced (nominated), that will I’m sure send some alarm bells ringing and keep everybody on their toes, that’s the whole point.”

Oduba said of the dance programme: I think they’ve only won the Bafta once … and they were so grateful.

“They know how tough that category is. Just getting a show out on an entertainment space on a Saturday night is a big deal. It just shows how incredibly intense the competition is.”

Ex-EastEnders actress Kacey Ainsworth, who played Little Mo, criticised the BBC One soap’s omission from the list.

“No EastEnders on the BAFTA TV noms that’s a first!”, she wrote on Twitter.

“In the past few months EastEnders has gone back to its roots, truly great characters, writers and actors and it shows.

“The only programme on TV depicting working class people not solely as benefit cheats and layabouts.”