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BAFTA To Honour Delia Smith CBE With a Special Award at Career Retrospective

4 March 2013
Delia Smith

In recognition of her outstanding career in television, BAFTA will honour Delia Smith CBE with a Special Award at a career retrospective tribute event on Tuesday 30 April.

London, 4 March: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has today announced that cook, author and broadcaster Delia Smith CBE will be presented with a BAFTA Special Award during a tribute event on Tuesday 30 April at BAFTA’s headquarters, 195 Piccadilly, in London. The Award is in honour of Delia’s outstanding contribution to television cookery and services to broadcasting. ‘A BAFTA Tribute: Delia Smith’ will celebrate her body of work over the last 40 years.

Andrew Newman, Chair of BAFTA’s Television Committee, said: “Delia Smith is one of the most influential voices in television cookery and has played an important role in not only pioneering the genre in television but also shaping the perception of cooking in the nation’s consciousness.

“Delia was the first TV cook to be recognised by her first name alone and her achievements have paved the way for today’s cooking programmes and formats. It is unlikely that Jamie, Nigella, Gordon, The Hairy Bikers, and much-loved competitions such as The Great British Bake Off or Masterchef would have happened without her contribution,” he added.

On hearing the news, Delia Smith said: “After the initial shock, I’m very proud to receive this honour from BAFTA as I've been a passionate movie buff ever since I was a small child, and television broadcasting has been a huge part of my life. So thank you so much BAFTA!”

BAFTA produces one or two tributes a year to major figures from the television and film industries who have contributed greatly to the art form and demonstrated excellence in their field. In recent years, BAFTA has paid tribute to producer Betty Willingale, costume designer Phyllis Dalton, production designer Sir Ken Adam, cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, animator Ray Harryhausen and director Nicolas Roeg.

Delia Smith began her TV career in 1973 as presenter of a new BBC One series entitled Family Fare. Her first cookery book How to Cheat at Cooking had been published in 1971 and, several books later, Delia approached the BBC with the idea for their first televised cookery course. The result, Delia Smith’s Cookery Course Part One, was broadcast in 1978, followed by Part Two in 1980 and Part Three in 1981.

Delia’s later series for the BBC have included One is Fun in 1991, Delia’s How to Cook, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2002, and Delia’s Classic Christmas, which gained an audience of nearly 4 million in December 2009, and marked her first Christmas programme for nearly 20 years.

Delia Smith has sold over 21 million books worldwide. Her latest book, Delia’s Cakes, was launched in February this year with an online cookery school on the Delia Online website.

Public tickets for ‘A BAFTA Tribute: Delia Smith’ will go on sale on Wednesday 6 March at www.bafta.org/whats-on.

A film of the event will be made available on BAFTA’s online learning channel BAFTA Guru (www.bafta.org/guru).


Event details:

A BAFTA Tribute: Delia Smith
Tuesday 30 April
18:30 Champagne Taittinger Reception
19:15 Tribute followed by audience Q&A


Delia Smith’s television series:

  • Family Fare (1973 – 1975)
  • Delia Smith's Cookery Course Part One (1978 – 1979)
  • Delia Smith's Cookery Course Part Two (1980)
  • Delia Smith's Cookery Course Part Three (1981)
  • Delia Smith's One is Fun (1985)
  • Delia Smith's Christmas (1990)
  • Delia Smith's Summer Collection (1993)
  • Delia Smith's Winter Collection (1995 – 1996)
  • Delia's Red Nose Collection (1997)
  • Delia's How to Cook Part One (1998)
  • Delia's How to Cook Part Two (2000)
  • Delia's How to Cook Part Three (2002)
  • Delia's Chocolate C'Hunks (2001)
  • Delia (2008)
  • Delia’s Classic Christmas (one hour Christmas Special) (2009)
  • Delia through the Decades (2010)

Further Information:

For further information, please contact Kindred

Elizabeth Porter | Tel: 020 7010 0851 /| Email: [email protected]
Hollie Rendall | Tel: 020 7010 0829 | Email: [email protected]


About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round Learning & Events programme that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. For further information, visit www.bafta.org, and to access the best creative minds in film, TV and games production visit www.bafta.org/guru.