Tristan Thompson and Kara Gillespie win BAFTA’S 2024 Young Presenters Competition

• Budding talents Tristan Thompson (14) and Kara Gillespie (18) win 2024 BAFTA Young Presenters competition in their respective age categories
• They will both receive a year-long programme of mentoring, industry introductions and interview opportunities
• Full list of eight finalists between 14 and 18 revealed today

Today, BAFTA announces fourteen-year-old Tristan Thompson and eighteen-year-old Kara Gillespie as winners of its national Young Presenters Competition; one of BAFTA’s key initiatives for children and young people spotlighting and nurturing the nation’s budding creative talent.

On audition day, the finalists interviewed presenter and journalist Ogo A. Joy, as well as Young BAFTA Advisory Group Chair, cultural consultant and disability advocate Andrew Miller MBE and Young BAFTA Advisory Group member and creative entrepreneur Nigel Twumasi from the Young BAFTA Advisory Group. The Young BAFTA Advisory Group was created in September 2023 to steer BAFTA’s year-round charitable programmes for children and young people and support of the children’s media industry.

Kara talked to Andrew Miller about giving advice to young people to follow their dreams, and what applications he used on his phone, while Tristan talked to him about his favourite film from his childhood, and his best party trick. You can watch clips of their winning auditions here.

A panel of expert industry helped assemble the shortlists and winning entrants, including Andrew Miller and Ogo A. Joy, as well as Louise Bucknole, Sharna Jackson, Dafydd Lennon, Shanequa Paris, Evie Pickerill, Jen Pringle, Robyn Richford, and Frankie Vu.

To enter the competition, children and young people aged between 10-18 years’ old were invited to create and submit a short video on what ‘My Voice Matters’ means to them, linked to the theme of Children’s Mental Health Week. 2024 marks the eighth year the Young Presenters competition has been running. It is part of a year-round programme which includes Young Presenters workshops at the Young BAFTA Roadshows with Place2Be in England, Wales and Scotland, and other transferable skills events across the country and at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly. Young BAFTA’s wide-ranging programme for children and young people also includes the Young Game Designers initiative, open to 10-18-year-olds – offering skills, networks and nurturing creative confidence to pursue careers in the games industry.

Andrew Miller, BAFTA trustee and Young BAFTA Advisory Board chair said: "Congratulations to Tristan and Kara, and to all our finalists for this year’s Young Presenters. I was thrilled to take part in the competition this year. I loved talking to Tristan and Kara for their final auditions. They both showed incredible self-assurance, individuality and warmth, and made me feel like I was in the hands of seasoned professionals when talking to them. I’m sure we’ll be seeing them on our screens in the future – watch this space.”

Tristan and Kara will receive a host of unique opportunities to present across Young BAFTA's programmes, as well as external appearances over the next 12 months. To-date, Tristan has filmed introductions for the family programme at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Kara will soon join the Young BAFTA team on the Isle of Bute for a Young BAFTA Roadshow stop at Rothesay Academy.

Tristan Thompson, 14, said: “Wow! Becoming a BAFTA Young Presenter is truly an amazing opportunity. I entered the competition to try something new in this industry which I love and I am so thankful to BAFTA for making me a small part of this awesome world. I can’t wait to grow with them, to connect with some of my favourite actors and presenters and to step on to the BAFTA red carpet!”

Kara Gillespie, 18, said: “When I found out I had won the BAFTA Young Presenter competition it felt like a dream come true for me. It is my biggest achievement as I have always wanted to become a TV presenter. I applied for the competition because I want to inspire young people to believe that they can achieve anything. I am so excited to see where this journey takes me and I am grateful for this amazing opportunity to work with BAFTA.”

Lisa Prime, Head of Children & Young People’s Programme at BAFTA added: “The BAFTA Young Presenters competition is a highlight of my year. It’s the culmination of a year-round programme for 10-18-year-old students that encourages self-expression, confidence, creativity and interaction – important life skills for everyone, as well as presenters. This year’s theme of ‘My Voice Matters’ generated hundreds of impassioned entries and gave us a unique insight into the lives of young people.  It was a privilege to meet our eight finalists at BAFTA HQ – all of them uniquely talented! Congratulations to all our finalists and a warm welcome to the BAFTA family for Tristan and Kara. We’re so excited to be working with you over the next year.”

The finalists for this year’s Young Presenters are:

10 – 14 Category

• Perrez Ampofo, 15 from Brimsdown
• Nandi Bushell, 14, from Ipswich
• Matthew Campbell, 14, from Glasgow
• Tristan Thompson, 14, from Sevenoaks (winner)

15 – 18 Category

• Flo Ellis-Outhwaite, 15, from London
• Kara Gillespie, 18, from Motherwell (winner)
• Abel Mousley, 17, from Liverpool
• Heidi Aisha Muili, 17, from Harlow

Previous winners Elsie Adams, Precious Assah, Jeriah Kibusi, Maryam Drammeh, Daniel McGovern, Samaira Iqbal, Gracie Gosling, Tianna Moore and Braydon Bent, have gone on to interview members of the Royal Family and leading figures across the creative and sports industries, from BAFTA’s President HRH The Duke of Cambridge, to sports presenter Alex Scott, and the cast of the Netflix hit show Heartstopper.