©Robert Wilson/The Times - The BAFTA Special Award recognises an outstanding contribution film, games or television, to be presented at the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises on Sunday 14 May
- The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer from 7-9pm
Presenter, broadcaster, filmmaker, author and historian Professor David Olusoga OBE will be presented with a BAFTA Special Award at the forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises. The BAFTA Special award is one of BAFTA’s highest honours recognising an outstanding contribution to film, games or television.
With a three-decade career spanning the creative arts and academia, Olusoga has been a trailblazer for the television industry, leading a reappraisal of how history has been traditionally told through popular culture.
A special commemoration of his extensive body-of-work at the forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards will pay tribute to Olusoga’s ongoing legacy and impact on the television industry and society, for widening perspectives of how history is presented, and expanding the diversity of stories told.
Olusoga’s credits include presenting the long-running BBC history series A House Through Time (BBC Two), writing and presenting the award-winning series Black & British: A Forgotten History (BBC Two) and the BAFTA winning Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners. Among his other credits are The World’s War (BBC Two), and The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files, Extra Life, a Short History of Living Longer and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations. He is a Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. In recent years he led major interviews with the former President of the United States, Barack Obama and lectures including the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart Lecture in 2020.
David Olusoga said: “I am honoured to be the recipient of the BAFTA Special Award 2023. It is humbling to have my work in television, as both a producer and a presenter, recognised in this way.”
Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA said: “We are honoured to present David Olusoga the BAFTA Special Award at our forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises. David Olusoga has made an outstanding contribution, not just to the television community but to our society and culture. His commitment and bravery in reappraising how history is presented through television is inspiring. He represents the best of what television can do - its power to inspire, educate and challenge. David has made our industry and society a better place, and this BAFTA Special Award couldn’t be more deserved.”
Alongside his television work, Olusoga is the author of seven books including: Black & British: A Forgotten History, awarded both the Longman-History Today Trustees Award and the PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize; The World’s War, which won First World War Book of the Year in 2014; and Black & British A Short Essential History was a Waterstones Book Of The Year, Non-Fiction winner at the Quiz Writers' Choice Awards 2021 and Book of the Year, Children's non-fiction at the 2021 British Book Awards. His other titles are The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide; The Colonial Roots of Nazism; Civilizations: Encounters The Cult of Progress; and A House Through Time.
He is also a recipient of the British Academy's Presidents Medal and the Norton Medlicott Medal for Services to History, and a Fellow of the British Academy, The Royal Society of Literature, The Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Historical Society. Olusoga was also a contributor to the Oxford Companion to Black British History, writes for The Guardian and is a columnist for The Observer and BBC History Magazine.
The Special Award is one of BAFTA’s highest honours. Previous recipients for their television work include Nicola Shindler, Clare Balding, Idris Elba, John Motson, Henry Normal, Nick Fraser, Lenny Henry, Delia Smith and Cilla Black.
The BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises are the biggest night in the television calendar, recognising the incredible quality and variety of television that was enjoyed in 2022, with shows such as This Is Going To Hurt, The Responder, Bad Sisters and The Crown leading the nominations. Meera Syal CBE was recently announced as this year’s BAFTA Fellowship recipient, here.
The BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises will be hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan and will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 14 May at 7pm. Ahead of the ceremony, the public can tune into Clara Amfo and Michelle Visage live from the red-carpet on BAFTA’s YouTube, bringing viewers even closer to the action.
Follow @BAFTA on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter to get all of the latest updates, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the 2023 BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises.
#BAFTATVAwards with @pandocruises
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For more information, please contact:
Multitude Media:
Charlotte Kershaw
E: [email protected]
M: 0 7969 959 037
Alice Le Maistre
E: [email protected]
M: 07932 230 308
BAFTA:
Dingile Kasote
E: [email protected]
Notes to Editors:
Imagery is available via BAFTA Thirdlight
The full list of nominations for this year’s BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises, including the winners of this year’s BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2023 can be found here
About BAFTA
BAFTA – the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – which includes workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia – BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. For more, visit www.bafta.org. BAFTA is a registered charity (no. 216726).
About P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is Britain’s favourite cruise line, welcoming guests to experience holidays with a blend of discovery, choice, relaxation and exceptional service catered towards British tastes. Each of the seven ships has its own appeal from family friendly or exclusively for adults. With over 200 destinations worldwide, P&O Cruises itineraries are carefully curated to inspire discovery and are varied to suit newcomers and experienced guests alike.
Arvia joined the P&O Cruises fleet in December 2022 as the second LNG-powered, Excel-class ship embodying the newest trends in travel, dining and entertainment. Arvia offers a Caribbean/winter season of fly-cruise holidays from homeport Barbados and Mediterranean holidays from Southampton during the summer.
P&O Cruises works with the best of the best including Gary Barlow who is music director of The 710 Club on Arvia and Iona and has delivered a number of unique musical moments on board. Crafted to Gary’s creative vision, The 710 Club showcases an eclectic range of performances and offers an opportunity for up-and-coming musicians to get their break. Gary also joins guests for exclusive performances on Arvia and Iona holidays. Multi award-winning performer Nicole Scherzinger will be the creative force behind contemporary and breath-taking late night shows to be performed in SkyDome on board Iona and Arvia and P&O Cruises Food Heroes include chefs Marco Pierre White, Jose Pizarro, Shivi Ramoutar and Kjartan Skjelde who has created Norwegian speciality dishes, as well as award-winning drinks expert Olly Smith.
Recent awards for P&O Cruises include:
British Travel Awards Winner 21/22 – Best Cruise Line for Family Holidays.
Cruise Critic Editors’ Picks Awards Winner 2022 – Best for Families.
The company is part of Carnival Corporation & PLC (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).
