'Embarrassing travesty': Actor Phil Davis resigns from BAFTA membership
In a dramatic turn of events, British actor Phil Davis has confirmed that he has resigned from his membership at BAFTA following Sunday's award ceremony. The actor who has been associated with the BAFTA in the past called Sunday's ceremony an "embarrassing travesty." Davis has appeared in shows like Sherlock, and films including, Vera Drake, In The Name of the Father, and Alien 3.
Why does this story matter?
This year's BAFTA awards ceremony faced backlash for several reasons, among which the vast majority of white winners was the most controversial. The #BAFTASOWhite hashtag started trending to draw attention to the lack of diversity at this year's ceremony. Apart from this, Davis was specifically upset with the omission of Doctor Who actor Bernard Cribbins during the annual "In Memorium" video about notable deaths.
'I resigned my membership'
On Thursday, the actor-director, who has been a Supporting Actor BAFTA nominee for his role in Vera Drake (2004), took to Twitter to make the announcement. His post read, "The BAFTA awards were an embarrassing travesty. Cutting deserving winners' speeches for toe-curling non-interviews. Poor Richard E Grant pretending to arrive in a Batmobile and no Bernard Cribbens in Memorium. I resigned my membership."
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BAFTA gave 'time constraints' as excuse for not including Cribbens
The Railway Children actor Cribbens died in 2022, aged 93. His omission from the "In Memorium" segment prompted a backlash. BAFTA, while responding to the backlash over Cribbens's exclusion, stated, "It was down to time constraints, and he features in (our) online records." They further added, "Given his influential work in TV, he will be considered for inclusion in the next Television Awards broadcast."
'Doctor Who' producer Russell T Davies slammed BAFTA
Many viewers, as well as celebrities, were left unimpressed when Cribbens was not included in the segment of Sunday's award ceremony. Hitting out on BAFTA's excuses, the executive producer and screenwriter of Doctor Who, Russell T Davies said, "It's fair enough to remember Bernard Cribbens at the TV, not the film." "To say he's being 'considered' is the work of an idiot," he added.
