ITV triumphs with Best Drama Bafta, but the wrong cop show won
ITV triumphs with Best Drama Bafta, but the wrong cop show won
Chris BennionSun, May 10, 2026 at 9:32 PM UTC
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Code of Silence, starring Rose Ayling-Ellis (centre) took the Best Drama Series award - BAFTA
Just when we thought the 2026 Bafta Television Awards wasn’t going to throw up any surprises, it gave us a complimentary-glass-of-prosecco-dropper in the final knockings.
Best Drama Series is, arguably, the most prestigious award of the evening, doled out only to shows of the highest order – your Happy Valleys, your Wolf Halls, your Blue Lights (to borrow the footballing parlance). However, this year the winner was ITV’s Code of Silence, a very decent crime thriller with a superb concept and a charismatic lead performance. But the crème de la crème of British television? Absolutely not.
ITV knows how hard it is to win this award. This is only the third time this century the network has won it and the first two were for shows that will be considered classics in decades to come (Cold Feet, 2002; Broadchurch, 2014). Recent ITV jewels such as Downton Abbey and Unforgotten have had no more than nominations (see also Minder, Rumpole of the Bailey, Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Auf Wiedersehn, Pet). Code of Silence joins an extremely prestigious list of winners.
The show had critical praise and excellent viewing figures (the first episode consolidated to a remarkable 7.5 million) and deserved both. The wonderfully analogue conceit – a deaf canteen worker is co-opted to help the police with her lip-reading skills – was a humdinger, while Rose Ayling-Ellis’s lead performance was excellent.
As both the parent and sibling of a deaf person, I was excited to watch it. Yet while it slipped down smoothly on a Sunday evening, Code of Silence was a solid police procedural and no more. All the clichés, tics and beats of the ITV Sunday-night cop show were present and correct. Comforting, absorbing TV – and a series with a serious and important message – but award-winning?
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Charlotte Ritchie DS Ashleigh Francis and Rose Ayling-Ellis as Alison Brooks in Code of Silence - ITV
The big shock is what Code of Silence beat to win the award. It was up against last year’s winner, the brilliant Northern Ireland cop show Blue Lights, plus Steven Knight’s period drama A Thousand Blows and Scouse crime drama We Own This City. The last of these seemed nailed on to win – indeed the show is so good that I wouldn’t have been surprised if James Nelson-Joyce had pipped fellow Liverpudlian Stephen Graham to Best Actor. Perhaps the judging panel decided something less overtly macho should triumph this year. While Code of Silence’s competitors also boasted fine lead female performances, the dramas themselves are of the distinctly testosterone-heavy variety.
Bafta has always prided itself on recognising the elite in television, regardless of anything else. Look at last year when there were awards for Mr Loverman, Atomic People and Alma’s Not Normal – superb shows that barely troubled the viewing-figure charts. However, with Code of Silence beating We Own This City and Blue Lights, this year its shiniest prize has been taken home by a solid genre piece. It’s Vera I feel sorry for.
Yet in an evening of almost zero surprises – Bob Mortimer, The Celebrity Traitors, Amandaland, The Studio et al could have picked up their awards yesterday – Code of Silence did at least give us something that went against the grain. And in yet another awards evening dominated by Adolescence, we certainly needed that.
Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller (opposite Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller) in Adolescence - Netflix
Jack Thorne’s hard-hitting Netflix drama won four awards (the most for a single show in a single Bafta evening) and would likely have won five if they’d put one of Christine Tremarco or Erin Doherty into the Best Actress category. This follows multiple triumphs at the Emmys, Golden Globes and countless other award ceremonies across the globe.
There’s no doubt that Adolescence is British TV drama of the highest order, but can we all move on now? It seems more than a year since the fantastic young Owen Cooper picked up his first award and several years since the show was actually on. It’s not Adolescence’s fault that people still want to garland it with baubles, but even those involved will surely be happy to focus on other things now.
The full list of winnersLeading Actor -
Stephen Graham, Adolescence– Netflix
Colin Firth, Lockerbie: A Search for Truth– Sky Atlantic
Ellis Howard, What It Feels Like for a Girl– BBC Three
James Nelson-Joyce, This City Is Ours– BBC One
Matt Smith,The Death of Bunny Munro– Sky Atlantic
Taron Egerton, Smoke – Apple TV
Leading Actress
Narges Rashidi won the Bafta for her portrayal of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe - BAFTA -
Narges Rashidi, Prisoner 951– BBC One
Aimee Lou Wood, Film Club– BBC Three
Erin Doherty, A Thousand Blows – Disney+
Jodie Whittaker, Toxic Town– Netflix
Sheridan Smith, I Fought the Law– ITV1
Siân Brooke, Blue Lights – BBC One
Supporting Actor
Owen Cooper wins the Bafta after a record-breaking Emmy win - PA -
Owen Cooper, Adolescence – Netflix
Ashley Walters, Adolescence – Netflix
Fehinti Balogun,Down Cemetery Road– Apple TV
Joshua McGuire,The Gold– BBC One
Paddy Considine, MobLand– Paramount+
Rafael Mathé, The Death of Bunny Munro – Sky Atlantic
Supporting Actress
Christine Tremarco won for her role as Manda Miller in Adolescence - BAFTA -
Christine Tremarco, Adolescence – Netflix
Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus – Sky Atlantic
Chyna McQueen, Get Millie Black – Channel 4
Emilia Jones, Task– Sky Atlantic
Erin Doherty, Adolescence – Netflix
Rose Ayling-Ellis, Reunion– BBC One
Actor in a Comedy
Steve Coogan won for Best Actor in a Comedy for the latest Alan Partridge series - BAFTA -
Steve Coogan, How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)– BBC One
Jim Howick, Here We Go – BBC One
Jon Pointing, Big Boys– Channel 4
Lenny Rush, Am I Being Unreasonable? – BBC One
Mawaan Rizwan, Juice – BBC Three
Oliver Savell, Changing Ends– ITV1
Actress in a Comedy -
Katherine Parkinson, Here We Go – BBC One
Diane Morgan, Mandy – BBC Two
Jennifer Saunders, Amandaland– BBC One
Lucy Punch, Amandaland – BBC One
Philippa Dunne, Amandaland – BBC One
Rosie Jones, Pushers – Channel 4
Drama Series -
Code of Silence – ITV1
A Thousand Blows– Disney+
Blue Lights – BBC One
This City Is Ours – BBC One
Limited Drama -
Adolescence – Netflix
I Fought the Law – ITV1
Trespasses– Channel 4
What It Feels Like for a Girl – BBC Three
Scripted Comedy
Samuel Anderson and Lucy Punch in Amandaland - BBC -
Amandaland – BBC One
Big Boys – Channel 4
How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) – BBC One
Things You Should Have Done – BBC Three
Soap -
EastEnders – BBC One
Casualty – BBC One
Coronation Street – ITVX
Factual Entertainment -
Go Back to Where You Came From – Channel 4
The Assembly – ITV1
Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars – Apple TV
Race Across the World– BBC One
Entertainment Performance -
Bob Mortimer, Last One Laughing – Prime Video
Amanda Holden, Alan Carr, Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job – BBC One
Claudia Winkleman, The Celebrity Traitors– BBC One
Lee Mack, The 1% Club – ITV1
Rob Beckett, Romesh, Ranganathan Rob & Romesh Vs… – Sky Max
Romesh Ranganathan, Romesh: Can’t Knock the Hustle – Sky Max
Entertainment -
Last One Laughing– Prime Video
The Graham Norton Show – BBC One
Michael McIntyre’s Big Show – BBC One
Would I Lie to You? – BBC One
Reality -
The Celebrity Traitors – BBC One
The Jury: Murder Trial – Channel 4
Squid Game: The Challenge– Netflix
Virgin Island– Channel 4
Daytime -
Scam Interceptors – BBC One
The Chase – ITV1
Lorraine – ITV1
Richard Osman’s House of Games – BBC Two
Children’s: Non-Scripted -
World.War.Me (Sky Kids Investigates) – Sky News
A Real Bug’s Life – Disney+
Boosnoo! – Sky Kids
Deadly 60 Saving Sharks – CBBC
Children’s: Scripted
Coming of age comedy Crongton - BBC/New Pictures -
Crongton – BBC iPlayer
Horrible Science – BBC iPlayer
Shaun the Sheep – CBBC
The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball – Cartoon Network
Current Affairs -
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack– Channel 4
Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War (Exposure) – ITV1
The Covid Contracts: Follow the Money – ITV1
Undercover in the Police (Panorama) – BBC One
International
Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen in Apple TV’s The Studio - Apple TV -
The Studio – Apple TV
The Bear – Disney+
The Diplomat – Netflix
Pluribus – Apple TV
Severance – Apple TV
The White Lotus– Sky Atlantic
Live Event Coverage -
VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember – BBC One
Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 – BBC One
Last Night of the Proms: Finale – BBC One
Single Documentary -
Grenfell: Uncovered – Netflix
Louis Theroux: The Settlers – BBC Two
One Day in Southport – Channel 4
Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire– BBC Two
Factual Series -
See No Evil – Channel 4
Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park – Sky Documentaries
Educating Yorkshire – Channel 4
The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed– ITV1
Specialist Factual
‘A film so powerful it’s tempting to turn away from it’: Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz - BBC -
Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz – BBC Two
Belsen: What They Found – BBC Two
Surviving Black Hawk Down – Netflix
Vietnam: The War That Changed America – Apple TV
News Coverage -
Channel 4 News: Israel-Iran: The Twelve Day War – Channel 4
BBC Newsnight: Grooming Survivors Speak – BBC Two
Sky News: Gaza: Fight for Survival – Sky News
Short Form -
Hustle and Run – Channel 4
Donkey – BBC Three
Rocket Fuel – BBC iPlayer
Zoners – BBC Three
Sports Coverage -
UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 – BBC One
The 2025 Ryder Cup – Sky Sports Main Event
The FA Cup Final – BBC One
Wimbledon 2025 – BBC One
P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award -
The Celebrity Traitors, Alan Carr wins The Celebrity Traitors – BBC One
Adolescence, Jamie Snaps at the Psychologist – Netflix
Big Boys, I didn’t make it, did I? – Channel 4
Blue Lights, The police are warned of an ambush – BBC One
Last One Laughing, Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade’s speed date – Prime Video
What It Feels Like for a Girl, Byron leaves for Brighton and introduces herself as Paris – BBC Three
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
