Adolescence Dominates – “Adolescence” leads the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards with record wins, while Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper and Christine Tremarco take top acting honours.
A streak of momentum turned into history on Sunday evening as “Adolescence” swept the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards, with the limited series emerging as the night’s dominant force.
The four-episode Netflix limited series, already celebrated for its run and recognition across major awards—including nine Emmys—closed out its heralded stretch by securing a record four wins at the BAFTA TV Awards.
For its prize haul, “Adolescence” was named Best Limited Drama.. It also claimed the acting categories for Stephen Graham (Leading Actor), Owen Cooper (Supporting Actor), and Christine Tremarco (Supporting Actress).. Earlier in the season, the series also added two BAFTA TV Craft awards to its collection.
Cooper’s win in particular was framed as especially rare.. The report noted that the young British breakout had already won an Emmy. the Actor Award. the Critics’ Choice Award. and the Golden Globe Award for his work as young Jamie Miller.. It was also highlighted as a landmark moment: Cooper became the youngest actor ever to win those four major television acting awards for a single performance. and to achieve the feat within just one season of television.. With BAFTA now included, sources described it as unprecedented.
With four wins, “Adolescence” surpassed previous record-holders including “Killing Eve” and “Happy Valley,” which had previously taken three awards apiece.. The result sets a high bar for future limited dramas. especially as the nominations list showed how competitive the field was across drama. comedy. factual and specialist categories.
The BAFTA TV Awards winners list also featured a range of standout victories across programming types—from international series and news coverage to daytime. soap and sports.. Leading Actor went to Stephen Graham for “Adolescence. ” while the other nominees in that category included Colin Firth (“Lockerbie: A Search for Truth”). Ellis Howard (“What It Feels Like for a Girl”). James Nelson-Joyce (“This City Is Ours”). Matt Smith (“The Death of Bunny Munro”). and Taron Egerton (“Smoke”).
In Leading Actress, Narges Rashidi took the win for “Prisoner 951,” with other nominees including Aimee Lou Wood (“Film Club”), Erin Doherty (“A Thousand Blows”), Jodie Whittaker (“Toxic Town”), Sheridan Smith (“I Fought the Law”), and Siân Brooke (“Blue Lights”).
“Code of Silence” was named Drama Series winner. beating out “A Thousand Blows. ” “Blue Lights. ” and “This City Is Ours.” Entertainment Performance was awarded to Amanda Holden and Alan Carr for “Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job. ” while the nominees also included Bob Mortimer (“Last One Laughing”) and Claudia Winkleman (“The Celebrity Traitors”). among others.
On the international front. “The White Lotus” claimed the win in the International category over competition including “The Bear. ” “The Diplomat. ” “Pluribus. ” “Severance. ” and “The Studio.” In the public-voted P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award. “The Celebrity Traitors” was the winner. while other nominated moments included “Adolescence. ” “Big Boys. ” “Blue Lights. ” and “Last One Laughing. ” along with “What It Feels Like for a Girl.”
Factual Entertainment went to “Go Back to Where You Came From. ” with “The Assembly” and “Race Across the World” also appearing in the nominees.. News Coverage was won by “Channel 4 News: Israel-Iran: The Twelve Day War. ” and the Current Affairs victory went to “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack. ” with other nominees including “Undercover in the Police (Panorama)” and “The Covid Contracts: Follow the Money.”
Daytime was claimed by “Scam Interceptors.” Soap was won by “Eastenders. ” with “Casualty. ” “Coronation Street. ” and “Eastenders” alongside the category lineup.. Sports Coverage went to “Wimbledon 2025. ” and Sports nominees also included “The 2025 Ryder Cup. ” “The FA Cup Final. ” and “UEFA Women’s Euro 2025.”
Comedy and unscripted categories delivered their own standouts.. Actress in a Comedy was awarded to Diane Morgan for “Mandy. ” and the Actor in a Comedy winner went to Steve Coogan for “How Are You?. Its Alan (Partridge).” Live Event Coverage was won by “Ve Day 80: A Celebration to Remember.” Short Form honours went to “Hustle and Run. ” while Single Documentary was won by “Grenfell: Uncovered.”
Among children’s programming, the winners included “Crongton” for Children’s: Scripted and “Deadly 60 Saving Sharks” for Children’s: Non-Scripted.. Specialist Factual was won by “Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz. ” and Factual Series went to “Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park.” Reality was won by “The Celebrity Traitors. ” reinforcing the show’s continued presence across multiple BAFTA arenas.
In supporting categories, Christine Tremarco won Supporting Actress for “Adolescence,” while Owen Cooper took Supporting Actor for the same series.. Supporting Actress nominees also included Aimee Lou Wood (“The White Lotus”). Chyna Mcqueen (“Get Millie Black”). Emilia Jones (“Task”). Erin Doherty (“Adolescence”). and Rose Ayling-Ellis (“Reunion”).. Supporting Actor nominees included Ashley Walters (“Adolescence”). Fehinti Balogun (“Down Cemetery Road”). Joshua Mcguire (“The Gold”). Paddy Considine (“Mobland”). and Rafael Mathé (“The Death of Bunny Munro”).
Beyond the trophy count. the scale of “Adolescence”’s success points to how the industry is rewarding limited storytelling that lands with both audiences and award bodies.. The fact that its recognition spanned drama. acting. and craft suggests a full-stack performance—from writing and production choices to the way performances translated on screen.
It also places the BAFTA TV Awards in a familiar spotlight: when one title captures attention across multiple categories. it tends to reshape how viewers and industry watchers frame what “event TV” looks like for the season.. With a record-setting four-win night, “Adolescence” now stands as the benchmark for future limited series aspirations.
For viewers planning what to watch next. the winners list reads like a map of current British and international television priorities. pairing prestige drama with factual storytelling. live-event coverage. and reality formats.. And in that mix, “Adolescence” wasn’t just present—it was the centre of gravity.
Nominees and winners list (as reported) included:
Leading Actor: Stephen Graham — “Adolescence” (winner); Colin Firth — “Lockerbie: A Search for Truth”; Ellis Howard — “What It Feels Like for a Girl”; James Nelson-Joyce — “This City Is Ours”; Matt Smith — “The Death of Bunny Munro”; Taron Egerton — “Smoke”
Leading Actress: Narges Rashidi — “Prisoner 951” (winner); Aimee Lou Wood — “Film Club”; Erin Doherty — “A Thousand Blows”; Jodie Whittaker — “Toxic Town”; Sheridan Smith — “I Fought the Law”; Siân Brooke — “Blue Lights”
Drama Series: “Code of Silence” (winner); “A Thousand Blows”; “Blue Lights”; “This City Is Ours”
Entertainment Performance: Amanda Holden and Alan Carr — “Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job” (winner); Bob Mortimer — “Last One Laughing”; Claudia Winkleman — “The Celebrity Traitors”; Lee Mack — “The 1% Club”; Rob Beckett. Romesh Ranganathan — “Rob & Romesh Vs…”; Romesh Ranganathan — “Romesh: Can’t Knock The Hustle”
International: “The White Lotus” (winner); “The Bear”; “The Diplomat”; “Pluribus”; “Severance”; “The Studio”
P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award (Voted for by the Public): “The Celebrity Traitors” (winner); “Adolescence”; “Big Boys”; “Blue Lights”; “Last One Laughing”; “What It Feels Like for a Girl”
Factual Entertainment: “Go Back to Where You Came From” (winner); “The Assembly”; “Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars”; “Race Across the World”
News Coverage: “Channel 4 News: Israel-Iran: The Twelve Day War” (winner); “BBC Newsnight: Grooming Survivors Speak”; “Sky News: Gaza: Fight for Survival”
Current Affairs: “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” (winner); “Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel’s War (Exposure)”; “The Covid Contracts: Follow the Money”; “Undercover in the Police (Panorama)”
Daytime: “Scam Interceptors” (winner); “The Chase”; “Lorraine”; “Richard Osman’s House of Games”
Sports Coverage: “Wimbledon 2025” (winner); “The 2025 Ryder Cup”; “The FA Cup Final”; “UEFA Women’s Euro 2025”
Soap: “Eastenders” (winner); “Casualty”; “Coronation Street”
Actress in a Comedy: Diane Morgan — “Mandy” (winner); Jennifer Saunders — “Amandaland”; Katherine Parkinson — “Here We Go”; Lucy Punch — “Amandaland”; Philippa Dunne — “Amandaland”; Rosie Jones — “Pushers”
Actor in a Comedy: Steve Coogan — “How Are You? Its Alan (Partridge)” (winner); Jim Howick — “Here We Go”; Jon Pointing — “Big Boys”; Lenny Rush — “Am I Being Unreasonable?”; Mawaan Rizwan — “Juice”; Oliver Savell — “Changing Ends”
Live Event Coverage: “Ve Day 80: A Celebration to Remember” (winner); “Holocaust Memorial Day 2025”; “Last Night of the Proms: Finale”
Short Form: “Hustle and Run” (winner); “Donkey”; “Rocket Fuel”; “Zoners”
Single Documentary: “Grenfell: Uncovered” (winner); “Louis Theroux: The Settlers”; “One Day In Southport”; “Unforgotten: The Bradford City Fire”
Limited Drama: “Adolescence” (winner); “I Fought the Law”; “Trespasses”; “What It Feels Like for a Girl”
Entertainment*: “Last One Laughing” (winner); “The Graham Norton Show”; “Michael Mcintyre’s Big Show”; “Would I Lie to You”
Children’s: Scripted: “Crongton” (winner); “Horrible Science”; “Shaun the Sheep”; “The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball”
Children’s: Non-Scripted: “Deadly 60 Saving Sharks” (winner); “A Real Bugs Life”; “Boosnoo!”; “World.War.Me (Sky Kids Investigates)”
Factual Series: “Bibaa & Nicole: Murder in the Park” (winner); “Educating Yorkshire”; “See No Evil”; “The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed”
Specialist Factual: “Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz” (winner); “Belsen: What They Found”; “Surviving Black Hawk Down”; “Vietnam: The War That Changed America”
Scripted Comedy: “Amandaland” (winner); “Big Boys”; “How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge)”; “Things You Should Have Done”
Reality: “The Celebrity Traitors” (winner); “The Jury: Murder Trial”; “Squid Game: The Challenge”; “Virgin Island”
Supporting Actress: Christine Tremarco — “Adolescence” (winner); Aimee Lou Wood — “The White Lotus”; Chyna Mcqueen — “Get Millie Black”; Emilia Jones — “Task”; Erin Doherty — “Adolescence”; Rose Ayling-Ellis — “Reunion”
Supporting Actor: Owen Cooper — “Adolescence” (winner); Ashley Walters — “Adolescence”; Fehinti Balogun — “Down Cemetery Road”; Joshua Mcguire — “The Gold”; Paddy Considine — “Mobland”; Rafael Mathé — “The Death of Bunny Munro”
BAFTA TV Awards 2026 Adolescence limited series Stephen Graham Owen Cooper Christine Tremarco Netflix TV awards British television