British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance

The British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance is an award given out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts at their annual BAFTA Television Awards ceremony.

This category has had minor name changes:

• From 1958 to 1962 it was presented as an individual award named Best Light Entertainment Artist.
• From 1963 to 1965 it was awarded as Best Light Entertainment Personality
• From 1967 to 1999 it was awarded as Best Light Entertainment Performance.^[1]
• Since 2000 the award has been known as Best Entertainment Performance.

Prior to the 1994 ceremony, acting performances in comedy roles were included in this category. Since 1994 they have been recognised in the Best Comedy Performance category.

Winners and nominees

Alan Bennett won the award twice, in 1967 and 1968.

1950s

1960s

Ronnie Corbett won for The Two Ronnies in 1972.

Ronnie Barker was won four times, 1972, 1976, 1978 and 1979, for The Two Ronnies, Porridge and Going Straight.

Penelope Keith won for The Good Life in 1977.

1970s

John Cleese won in 1980 for Fawlty Towers.

Rowan Atkinson has won this award twice, for Not the Nine O'Clock News (1981) and Blackadder Goes Forth (1990).

Tracey Ullman won for Three of a Kind in 1984.

Judi Dench won for A Fine Romance in 1985.

Victoria Wood was won twice, for Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV (1986) and An Audience with Victoria Wood (1989).

1980s

David Jason won for Only Fools and Horses in 1991.

Richard Wilson has won twice, in 1992 and 1994, both for One Foot in the Grave.

Joanna Lumley won for Absolutely Fabulous in 1993.

Rory Bremner won two consecutive times, both for Rory Bremner...Who Else? in 1995 and 1996.

1990s

Graham Norton was won the award six times, three for So Graham Norton (2000–2002) and The Graham Norton Show (2011, 2012 and 2018).

Paul Merton won for Have I Got News for You in 2003.

Jonathan Ross has won three times, in 2004, 2006 and 2007, all three for Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.

Paul O'Grady won for The Paul O'Grady Show in 2005.

Harry Hill has won two consecutive times in 2008 and 2009, both for Harry Hill's TV Burp.

2000s

Ant McPartlin (left) and Declan Donnelly (right) won three times, for I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2010) and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2014 and 2015).

Alan Carr won for Alan Carr: Chatty Man in 2013.

Leigh Francis won for Celebrity Juice in 2016.

Michael McIntyre won for Michael McIntyre's Big Show in 2017.

Lee Mack won for Would I Lie to You? in 2019.

2010s

Mo Gilligan won for The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan in 2020.

Romesh Ranganathan won for The Ranganation in 2021.

Claudia Winkleman won for The Traitors in 2023.

2020s

Performers with multiple wins and nominations

Multiple wins

The following people have been awarded the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance multiple times:

Multiple nominations

The following people have been nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance multiple times:

References

1. "Arqiva British Academy Television Awards". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
2. "Television – 1965". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Retrieved 25 February 2021.
3. "Awards Database – The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
4. "Awards Database – The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
5. "Awards Database – The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
6. "Awards Database – The BAFTA site". Bafta.org. Retrieved 2012-06-21.
7. Kanter, Jake (2020-07-31). "BAFTA TV Awards Winners: Night Of Surprises, As 'Chernobyl' & 'The End Of The F***ing World' Take Two Prizes Each". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
8. "BAFTA TV 2021: Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". bafta.org. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
9. "Bafta TV awards 2022: full list of nominations". The Guardian. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
10. Ritman, Alex (22 March 2023). "BAFTA TV Awards: 'This is Going to Hurt,' 'The Responder' Lead Pack of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
11. "Bafta TV awards 2023: the full list of winners". The Guardian. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
12. Szalai, Georg (March 20, 2024). "BAFTA TV Awards: 'The Crown,' 'Black Mirror' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 24, 2024.