Ian McKellen took to the stage to accept the Outstanding Achievement Award, recognising his incomparable contribution to theatre and film. He joins Tracey Emin, Harold Pinter, Julie Walters, Sylvia Guillem, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Lloyd Webber, The Who, Paul Abbott, Simon Rattle, Eddie Izzard, and Sir Lenny Henry in the Outstanding Achievement hall of fame. He was also congratulated via video by Dame Judi Dench and Dame Helen Mirren.
In television, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s renowned series Fleabag won the Comedy category, seeing off Netflix’s Sex Education and Channel 4’s Home. Meanwhile, Sky Original drama Chernobyl won out in the TV Drama category for its unflinching portrayal of the nuclear accident.