Bafta reveals guest presenters for delayed 2020 TV awards

Normal People stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal will reunite to join Richard Ayoade in the studio as guest presenters for the Bafta television awards.

The awards are being broadcast on BBC One on July 31 from behind closed doors and nominees will accept their awards virtually.

Actors Adrian Lester, Himesh Patel and Joe Cole, presenter Stacey Dooley and comedian Greg Davies will also be on hand.

Ayoade will be joined virtually by Billy Porter, Chris O’Dowd, David Tennant, Jeff Goldblum, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Michael Sheen and Ruth Madeley, all presenting via video-link.

The show will also feature two performances from Australian comedian and musician Tim Minchin, including an original song composed for the event.

The Bafta TV awards were due to take place on May 17, while the craft awards, which celebrate technical achievements, were to be held on April 26, but were postponed because of the coronavirus crisis.

The craft awards were streamed online on July 17, hosted by Stephen Mangan.

Like the craft awards, the TV ceremony will take place as a closed studio, socially-distanced show, and nominees will be invited to accept their awards virtually.

Ayoade will host the show for the first time and actor Idris Elba will receive the special award, one of Bafta’s highest accolades, presented by a surprise guest.

Sky drama Chernobyl and Netflix’s royal saga The Crown lead the way, securing three nominations each for the main awards.

– The Virgin Media Baftas will be broadcast on BBC One at 7pm on Friday July 31. Comedian Tom Allen will host a pre-show across Bafta’s social media platforms from 6pm.