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.

British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance
2024 Recipient: Joe Lycett
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	British Academy of Film and Television Arts
First awarded	1969 (presented in 1970)
Currently held by	Joe Lycett for Late Night Lycett (2024)
Website	http://www.bafta.org/

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

Comedians Peter Cook and Dudley Moore won the award for Not Only... But Also in 1966, the first time the award presented nominees.

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

1950s

Year	Performer
1958
	Tony Hancock
1959
	Alan Melville

1960s

Year	Performer	Programme
1960
	Tony Hancock
1961
	Stanley Baxter
1962
	Eric Sykes
1963
	Michael Bentine
1964
	Morecambe and Wise
1965
	Millicent Martin
1966[2]
	Peter Cook, Dudley Moore	Not Only... But Also
	John Bird	Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life
	Charlie Drake	The Worker
	Benny Hill	The Benny Hill Show
	Terry Scott	Scott on Birds; Scott on Money; Scott on Food; Hugh and I; Christmas Night with the Stars
1967
	Alan Bennett
1968
	Alan Bennett
1969
	Marty Feldman	Marty

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

Year	Performer	Programme
1970 [3]
	Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise	The Morecambe and Wise Show
	Ronnie Barker	Hark at Barker
	John Cleese	Monty Python's Flying Circus
	Spike Milligan	The World of Beachcomber; Q.5; Curry and Chips
1971
	Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise	The Morecambe and Wise Show
	John Cleese	Monty Python's Flying Circus
	Ronnie Corbett	Frost Show; No – That's Me Over Here!
	Frankie Howerd	Up Pompeii!
	Arthur Lowe	Dad's Army
1972
	Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett	The Two Ronnies
	Dick Emery	The Dick Emery Show
	Benny Hill	The Benny Hill Show
1973
	Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise	The Morecambe and Wise Show
	Arthur Lowe	Dad's Army
	Monty Python Team	Monty Python's Flying Circus
1974
	Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise	The Morecambe and Wise Show
	Dave Allen	Dave Allen At Large
	Stanley Baxter	The Stanley Baxter Big Picture Show
	Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett	The Two Ronnies
1975
	Stanley Baxter	The Moving Picture Show
	Ronnie Barker	Porridge
	Michael Crawford	Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
	Arthur Lowe	Dad's Army
1976
	Ronnie Barker	Porridge
	Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett	The Two Ronnies
	Stanley Baxter	The Stanley Picture Show Part III
	John Cleese	Fawlty Towers
1977
	Penelope Keith	The Good Life
	Ronnie Barker	Open All Hours; The Two Ronnies
	Richard Briers	The Good Life; One-Upmanship
	Leonard Rossiter	The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
1978
	Ronnie Barker	Porridge & The Two Ronnies
	Penelope Keith	The Good Life; The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show
	Arthur Lowe	Dad's Army
	Leonard Rossiter	The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; Rising Damp
1979
	Ronnie Barker	Going Straight & The Two Ronnies
	Leonard Rossiter	The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin; The Losers; Rising Damp
	Donald Sinden	Two's Company
	Elaine Stritch

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

Year	Performer	Programme
1980 [4]
	John Cleese	Fawlty Towers
	Ronnie Barker	The Two Ronnies
	Penelope Keith	To The Manor Born
	Andrew Sachs	Fawlty Towers
1981
	Rowan Atkinson	Not the Nine O'Clock News
	Barry Humphries	An Audience with Dame Edna Everage
	Maureen Lipman	Agony
	Pamela Stephenson	Not the Nine O'Clock News
1982
	Nigel Hawthorne	Yes Minister
	Dave Allen	The Dave Allen Show
	Paul Eddington	Yes Minister
	Stanley Baxter	The Stanley Baxter Series
1983
	Nigel Hawthorne	Yes Minister
	Rowan Atkinson	Not the Nine O'Clock News
	Judi Dench	A Fine Romance
	Paul Eddington	Yes Minister & Let There Be Love
1984
	Tracey Ullman	Three of a Kind
	Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett	The Two Ronnies
	Judi Dench	A Fine Romance
	Jasper Carrot	Carrot's Lib
1985
	Judi Dench	A Fine Romance
	Lenny Henry	The Lenny Henry Show
	Julia McKenzie	Fresh Fields
	Ruth Madoc	Hi-de-Hi!
	Paul Nicholas	Just Good Friends
1986
	Victoria Wood	Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
	Ronnie Barker	Open All Hours & The Two Ronnies
	David Jason	Only Fools and Horses
	Gorden Kaye	'Allo 'Allo!
1987
	Nigel Hawthorne	Yes, Prime Minister
	David Jason	Only Fools and Horses
	Nicholas Lyndhurst
	Paul Eddington	Yes, Prime Minister
	Julie Walters	Victoria Wood As Seen On TV
	Victoria Wood
1988
	Nigel Hawthorne	Yes, Prime Minister
	Rowan Atkinson	Blackadder the Third
	Paul Eddington	Yes, Prime Minister
	Barry Humphries	The Dame Edna Experience
1989
	Victoria Wood	An Audience with Victoria Wood
	Dawn French	French and Saunders
	Barry Humphries	One More Audience with Dame Edna
	David Jason	Only Fools and Horses

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

Year	Performer	Programme	Network
1990 [5]
	Rowan Atkinson	Blackadder Goes Forth	BBC One
	Barry Humphries	The Dame Edna Experience	ITV
	David Jason	Only Fools and Horses	BBC One
	Victoria Wood	Victoria Wood
1991
	David Jason	Only Fools and Horses	BBC One
	Rowan Atkinson	The Return of Mr. Bean	ITV
	Dawn French	French and Saunders	BBC Two
	Nicholas Lyndhurst	Only Fools and Horses	BBC One
1992
	Richard Wilson	One Foot in the Grave	BBC One
	Rowan Atkinson	The Curse of Mr. Bean	ITV
	Haydn Gwynne	Drop the Dead Donkey	Channel 4
	Patricia Routledge	Keeping Up Appearances	BBC One
1993
	Joanna Lumley	Absolutely Fabulous	BBC One
	Patricia Routledge	Keeping Up Appearances	BBC One
	Richard Wilson	One Foot in the Grave
	Jennifer Saunders	Absolutely Fabulous
1994
	Richard Wilson	One Foot in the Grave; One Foot in the Algarve	BBC One
	Rowan Atkinson	Mr. Bean	ITV
	Rory Bremner	Rory Bremner...Who Else?	Channel 4
	Annette Crosbie	One Foot in the Grave	BBC One
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC Two
1995
	Rory Bremner	Rory Bremner...Who Else?	Channel 4
	Michael Barrymore	Barrymore	ITV
	Steve Coogan	Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge	BBC Two
	Victoria Wood	Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home	BBC One
1996 (42nd)
	Rory Bremner	Rory Bremner...Who Else?	Channel 4
	Caroline Aherne	The Mrs. Merton Show	BBC One
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC Two
	Peter Ustinov	An Evening with Peter Ustinov	ITV
1997 (43rd)
	John Bird & John Fortune	Rory Bremner...Who Else?/The Long John's	Channel 4
	Caroline Aherne	The Mrs. Merton Christmas Show	BBC One
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC Two
	Rory Bremner	Rory Bremner... Who Else?	Channel 4
1998 (44th)
	Paul Whitehouse	The Fast Show	BBC Two
	Kathy Burke	Harry Enfield & Chums	BBC One
	Harry Enfield
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC Two
1999 (45th)
	Michael Parkinson	Parkinson	BBC One
	John Bird & John Fortune	Rory Bremner... Who Else?	Channel 4
	Kathy Burke	Harry Enfield's Yule Log Chums	BBC One
	Billy Connolly	30 Years of Billy Connolly

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

Year	Performer	Programme	Network
2000 (46th) [6]
	Graham Norton	So Graham Norton	Channel 4
	John Bird & John Fortune	Bremner, Bird and Fortune	Channel 4
	Sacha Baron Cohen	The 11 O'Clock Show
	Michael Parkinson	Parkinson	BBC One
2001 (47th)
	Graham Norton	So Graham Norton	Channel 4
	Angus Deayton	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
	Paul Merton
	Rory Bremner	Blair Did It All Go Wrong?	Channel 4
2002 (48th)
	Graham Norton	So Graham Norton	Channel 4
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	Pop Idol	ITV
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
	John Bird & John Fortune	Bremner, Bird and Fortune	Channel 4
2003 (49th)
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
	Sanjeev Bhaskar	The Kumars at No. 42	BBC Two
	Meera Syal
	Angus Deayton	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
2004 (50th)
	Jonathan Ross	Friday Night with Jonathan Ross	BBC One
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Four/BBC Two
	Boris Johnson	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
	Paul Merton
2005 (51st)
	Paul O'Grady	The Paul O'Grady Show	ITV
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Four/BBC Two
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	ITV
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
2006 (52nd)
	Jonathan Ross	Friday Night with Jonathan Ross	BBC One
	Jeremy Clarkson	Top Gear	BBC Two
	Jack Dee	Jack Dee Live at the Apollo	BBC One
	Noel Edmonds	Deal or No Deal	Channel 4
2007 (53rd)
	Jonathan Ross	Friday Night with Jonathan Ross	BBC One
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	ITV
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Four/BBC Two
	Paul Merton	Have I Got News for You	BBC One
2008 (54th)
	Harry Hill	Harry Hill's TV Burp	ITV
	Simon Amstell	Never Mind the Buzzcocks	BBC One
	Alan Carr & Justin Lee Collins	The Friday Night Project	Channel 4
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Two
2009 (55th)
	Harry Hill	Harry Hill's TV Burp	ITV
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC One/BBC Two
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	ITV
	Jonathan Ross	Friday Night with Jonathan Ross	BBC One

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

Year	Performer	Programme	Network
2010 (56th)
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	ITV1
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Two/BBC One
	Harry Hill	Harry Hill's TV Burp	ITV1
	Michael McIntyre	Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow	BBC One
2011 (57th)
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
	Rob Brydon	The Rob Brydon Show	BBC Two
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Two
	Harry Hill	Harry Hill's TV Burp	ITV1
2012 (58th)
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
	Alan Carr	Alan Carr: Chatty Man	Channel 4
	Harry Hill	Harry Hill's TV Burp	ITV1
	Dara Ó Briain	Mock the Week	BBC Two
2013 (59th)
	Alan Carr	Alan Carr: Chatty Man	Channel 4
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	ITV
	Sarah Millican	The Sarah Millican Television Programme	BBC Two
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
2014 (60th)
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	ITV
	Charlie Brooker	10 O'Clock Live	Channel 4
	Sarah Millican	The Sarah Millican Television Programme	BBC Two
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
2015 (61st)
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	ITV
	Leigh Francis	Celebrity Juice	ITV2
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
	Claudia Winkleman	Strictly Come Dancing
2016 (62nd)
	Leigh Francis	Celebrity Juice	ITV2
	Stephen Fry	QI	BBC Two
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
	Romesh Ranganathan	Asian Provocateur	BBC Three
2017 (63rd)
	Michael McIntyre	Michael McIntyre's Big Show	BBC One
	Adam Hills	The Last Leg	Channel 4
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
	Claudia Winkleman	Strictly Come Dancing
2018 (64th)
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show	BBC One
	Adam Hills	The Last Leg	Channel 4
	Michael McIntyre	Michael McIntyre's Big Show	BBC One
	Sandi Toksvig	QI	BBC Two
2019 (65th)
	Lee Mack	Would I Lie To You?	BBC One
	Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly	Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway	ITV
	David Mitchell	Would I Lie To You?	BBC One
	Rachel Parris	The Mash Report	BBC Two

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

Year	Performer	Programme	Network
2020 (66th) [7]
	Mo Gilligan	The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan	Channel 4
	Frankie Boyle	Frankie Boyle's New World Order	BBC Two
	Lee Mack	Would I Lie To You?	BBC One
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show
2021 (67th) [8]
	Romesh Ranganathan	The Ranganation	BBC Two
	Adam Hills	The Last Leg	Channel 4
	Bradley Walsh	Beat the Chasers	ITV
	Claudia Winkleman	Strictly Come Dancing	BBC One
	David Mitchell	Would I Lie to You? at Christmas
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show
2022 (68th) [9]
	Big Zuu	Big Zuu's Big Eats	Dave
	Alison Hammond	I Can See Your Voice	BBC One
	Michael McIntyre	Michael McIntyre's The Wheel
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show
	Joe Lycett	Joe Lycett's Got Your Back	Channel 4
	Sean Lock	8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
2023 (69th) [10][11]
	Claudia Winkleman	The Traitors	BBC One
	Lee Mack	The 1% Club	ITV
	Mo Gilligan	The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan	Channel 4
	Rosie Jones	Rosie Jones' Trip Hazard
	Big Zuu	Big Zuu's Big Eats	Dave
	Sue Perkins	Sue Perkins: Perfectly Legal	Netflix
2024 (70th) [12]
	Joe Lycett	Late Night Lycett	Channel 4
	Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly	I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!	ITV
	Big Zuu	Big Zuu's Big Eats	Dave
	Hannah Waddingham	Eurovision Song Contest 2023	BBC One
	Graham Norton	The Graham Norton Show
	Rob Beckett & Romesh Ranganathan	Rob & Romesh Vs	Sky Max

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:

6 wins Graham Norton 4 wins Ronnie Barker Nigel Hawthorne Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise 3 wins Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly Jonathan Ross

2 wins Rowan Atkinson Rory Bremner Harry Hill Richard Wilson Victoria Wood

Multiple nominations

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

13 nominations Graham Norton 12 nominations Ronnie Barker 10 nominations Paul Merton 8 nominations Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly Stephen Fry 7 nominations Rowan Atkinson

5 nominations Rory Bremner Ronnie Corbett Harry Hill David Jason Victoria Wood 4 nominations Stanley Baxter John Bird & John Fortune John Cleese Paul Eddington Nigel Hawthorne Barry Humphries Arthur Lowe Eric Morecambe & Ernie Wise Jonathan Ross Claudia Winkleman

3 nominations Alan Carr Judi Dench Adam Hills Penelope Keith Michael McIntyre Leonard Rossiter Richard Wilson Lee Mack

2 nominations Caroline Aherne Dave Allen Kathy Burke Angus Deayton Leigh Francis Dawn French Nicholas Lyndhurst Sarah Millican David Mitchell Michael Parkinson Romesh Ranganathan Patricia Routledge Mo Gilligan Big Zuu

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.