Baftas Viewers Have A Whole Lot Of Feelings About Paddington’s Surprise Appearance
Generally known for being more subdued and uneventful than some of its awards show peers, this year’s Baftas proved to be the exception to the rule, serving up controversy, discourse and a few surprise twists on Sunday night.
Indeed, even an appearance from national treasure Paddington Bear garnered a much more mixed response than you might think.
Following the huge success of the Paddington film series, the iconic British character is currently starring in his own West End show.
And because he was only down the road, Paddington decided to put in an appearance at the Baftas.
Fittingly, Paddington presented the award for Best Children And Family Film, treating the audience to a quick comedy routine. before announcing the winner.
As you’d expect, the moment went down a storm with many viewers:
Others were simply raging at the subdued reaction Paddington’s comedy stylings got from the celebrities in the Baftas audience:
And then there were those who were… well… let’s just go with bemused by Paddington’s latest incarnation:
Paddington: The Musical was penned by Olivier-winning playwright Jessica Swale, with original songs by McFly star Tom Fletcher.
For his stage play, the Paddington character – played by Ben Whishaw in the hit movies – has been brought to life through a combination of puppetry, robotics and animatronics, with James Hameed providing his singing and speaking voice.
Towards the end of last year, the character made a surprise appearance on Strictly Come Dancing to promote his new stage venture:
Meanwhile, One Battle After Another was the big winner at the 2026 Baftas, picking up six awards out of 14 nominations.
Sinners and Frankenstein each picked up three awards – including an acting nod for the former’s Wunmi Mosaku – while Hamnet and I Swear scored two.
Jessie Buckley and Robert Aramayo were awarded Best Actress and Actor, respectively, while Sean Penn was the surprise recipient of Best Supporting Actor, a title which has previously gone to Jacob Elordi and Stellan Skarsgård earlier this awards season.
Check out our full round-up of this year’s Bafta winners here.