Yahoo Movies 'David Tennant should definitely host the Baftas every year'
The Baftas 2025 broadcast was an entertaining triumph, helped by David Tennant's second successful hosting performance in a row. They need not look elsewhere.
We all love David Tennant, right? Aside from being undeniably the best Doctor Who lead actor of the modern generation — and probably ever, with apologies to devotees of long scarves — he's one of the most charming men in British showbiz. On Sunday night, he hosted the Baftas for the second time and, to be quite honest, he should just keep going every year.
The Bafta Film Awards hosting gig has been in something of an experimental phase for the last decade or so. Stephen Fry hosted the ceremony 12 times between 2001 and 2017, with five years of Jonathan Ross sandwiched in between Fry's tenure. Since Fry bowed out, there has been something of an ignominious revolving door.
There's no doubting the calibre of talent, but they simply haven't been the right fit. National treasure Joanna Lumley's two-year stint in 2018 and 2019 gave us one of the most cringe-worthy awards show monologues ever delivered. Graham Norton proved a safe pair of hands in 2020, while Clara Amfo, Dermot O'Leary, and Edith Bowman managed to guide a pandemic-compromised ceremony in 2021.
Rebel Wilson took charge in 2022 and then it was down to Richard E. Grant, who never looked confident in 2023 while co-host Alison Hammond was bizarrely left on the sidelines. It's fair to say that, much like the Oscars, the Baftas have been in search of someone who can tackle this most difficult of gigs. Well, step forward David Tennant.
Tennant's charisma and puppyish enthusiasm is a perfect fit for the Baftas, conveying his love and admiration for the ceremony without the over-earnest and entirely too reverent approach taken by some of the parachuted-in luvvies asked to present. He's willing to embrace silliness and make the awards show a fun telecast rather than simply a straight-faced appreciation of the year in film. Hollywood actors tend to take themselves very seriously, while Tennant doesn't.
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This year is a prime example. After a fun pre-filmed segment involving fellow Scottish actor Brian Cox, Tennant marched around the Royal Festival Hall singing a spirited rendition of I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers. The vibe was very much "lightly sozzled uncle at a wedding", but often that's what an awards show needs.
Watch: David Tennant opens the Baftas 2025 with a Proclaimers sing-along
The sing-along session immediately punctured any seriousness in the room and, frankly, it would have been fun to watch Tennant point his microphone at various famous faces all night, asking them to join in with his song. If David Tennant asks you to sing, you sing.
This same simple, uncomplicated joy passed through into Tennant's opening monologue. He was mischievous without ever being mean, delivering a string of decent puns and observations about the nominees with an impish grin on his face. The material wouldn't have won over a rowdy comedy club audience, but it did a perfect job of introducing the nominees and warming up the room. Awards monologues don't need to be comedy gold; a shiny stainless steel is more than enough.
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In fact, Tennant's only slightly contentious moment was when he delivered a run of jokes about Donald Trump — only one of which made the BBC's two-hour edit of the show, though all of them are in the YouTube clip above. The reaction in the room was a little subdued, perhaps showing that American stars feel less able to laugh at their new president than we are on this side of the pond.
But Tennant moved on regardless and kept an entertaining broadcast firmly on the rails. As a host, he's perfectly positioned — happy to be there, but very aware that the show isn't about him. Tennant knows when to go for a joke or a skit and when to sit back and let the awards themselves take centre stage — a balance much trickier in practice than it is in theory.
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The BBC and the British Academy should realise what they have here. Tennant is a star who can theoretically take on the Fry role and front a decade's worth of awards ceremonies. Really, the only hurdle should be his ever-busy schedule. If Tennant's diary has a blank square on the day of the Baftas, there's no need to call anybody else.
The Baftas 2025 is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
