Chernobyl actor dedicates best TV actor Bafta Scotland award to victims

A break-out star of gruelling TV drama Chernobyl has dedicated his best television actor award at the Scottish Baftas to the victims of the nuclear accident.

In the acclaimed series, Alex Ferns played miner leader Andrei Glukhov who led his men to prevent further disaster at the nuclear plant.

Accepting the award at a ceremony in Glasgow, Ferns, who previously starred in EastEnders as villain Trevor Morgan, joked: “Just when you think your career is f*****, along comes Chernobyl.”

He added: “I’d also like to commemorate Chernobyl and the people that put their lives on the line.

“That’s what this is all about, I don’t care about anything else.”

Other winners included Trainspotting actress Kelly Macdonald who took the TV actress award for her role in Scottish drama The Victim, who said she was “so privileged” to play her character Anna Dean.

Scottish comedy Still Game won the Outstanding Contribution to Television award, presented by Line Of Duty Star Martin Compston and actor and director David Hayman who have both starred in the show.

Compston praised Still Game as “the best Scottish TV show ever made” while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also paid tribute.

Co-creator Ford Kiernan told the PA news agency: “Twenty-one years it’s been, it’s been ages – it just means a lot to finally get that sort of recognition at the end.

“We’ve had a couple of Baftas before, oh yes, but we’re chuffed to bits to be picking this up tonight. It’s obviously the work of a whole lot of people.”

Among the other presenters at the event at the Doubletree Hilton hotel, hosted by broadcaster Edith Bowman, were Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe and Derry Girls stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Nicola Coughlan.

Film Wild Rose picked up the most awards with star Jackie Buckley taking the actress film award, Nicole Taylor wining the Writer Film/Television gong while the production also won feature film.

Beats actor Lorn Macdonald won Actor Film award, while The Cry took the Television scripted prize and Murder Case won both Features and Factual Series and its director Matt Pinder took the Director Factual award.

Pat Rambaut – script supervisor on films such as Local Hero, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Mona Lisa – was given the outstanding contribution to craft (in memory of Robert McCann) award.

Documentary Yes/No: Inside the Indyref won in Specialist Factual, while Real Kashmir F.C. was awarded the Single Documentary prize and was Disclosure: Who Killed Emma? took the Current Affairs trophy.

Jon S. Baird won Director Fiction for his film Stan & Ollie, while Observation received the award for Game, with Short Film won by That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore.

Entertainment was scooped by Last Commanders and this year’s Animation category was taken by Love, Death & Robots – Helping Hand.

Jude MacLaverty, Bafta Scotland director, said: “It has been a fantastic evening celebrating the very best of Scottish creative talent in Scotland across the film, games, and television industries.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the inspiring work that’s being produced in Scotland, and the fact that so much Scottish talent is being recognised internationally in the screen industries.

“We would like to offer our warmest congratulations to all our worthy winners and nominees.”