Thursday 30th July 2020, London: Today, the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards reveal the first ever virtual portraits of BAFTA nominees, shot exclusively by esteemed photographer, Rankin. The Virgin Media BAFTAs will be held as a closed-studio, socially distance show tomorrow evening for the first time, hosted by Richard Ayoade at 7pm on BBC One.  
 
In this intimate photo series, Virgin Media brings Rankin’s globally acclaimed lens into the homes of some of the nation’s favourite television talent who on the night would ordinarily grace the TV screens of viewers’ living rooms from the prestigious Awards ceremony. Through the shots, Rankin portrays what this years’ Virgin Media BAFTAs looks like for the most celebrated stars of the small screen, as they tune in from their homes to see who has won. 
 
From Suranne Jones playing board games to Ncuti Gatwa in his garden and Stephen Graham on his trampoline, Rankin has captured stars ‘all dressed up, with nowhere to go’, as they tune into the biggest night in television like TV fans across the country for the first time. Other nominees who took part in this first-of-its-kind shoot include Takehiro Hira, Samantha Morton, Glenda Jackson and Jamie Demetriou. 
 
Virgin Media, Rankin and BAFTA came together to create this unique shoot ahead of this years’ Awards ceremony, capturing the essence of the Awards from the safety and comfort of the nominees’ homes. The shoot was virtually connected, directed and delivered through a series of video calls, with the help of families and friends of the nominees who took part.  
 
RANKIN said: “I am so excited to have shot the 2020 Virgin Media BAFTAs nominee portraits. Despite the limitations, we have created a memorable series of photographs and it has been a real honour to capture some of the biggest TV stars in the intimacy of their own homes. To be able to virtually connect, direct, shoot and deliver these portraits without any physical interaction has been a fun challenge and our TV celebrities put on quite the performance for us!”  
 
David Bouchier, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media said: “TV has connected the nation more than ever before in the last few months. Through the power of video and connectivity, friends and families have been able to ‘be together’ even when they’ve been apart. And this year for the first time, we are hosting our customers at home – along with some of their favourite TV celebrities – to tune in to the biggest night in television as just like TV fans across the country, the stars too will be watching from the comfort of their homes. Rankin has perfectly captured the stars as they prepare for their big night in and we’re excited to share the first ever virtual Virgin Media BAFTAs with TV fans and the nominees.” 
 
Claire Rees, Photography Director at BAFTA, said: “We’re delighted to be collaborating creatively with Virgin media and Rankin to capture our BAFTA nominees virtually. This year has given us an opportunity to think differently, and despite not being able to come together in person for the ceremony, we’re thrilled that we’re still able to showcase the nominees in these intimate settings. Rankin has brought his irreverent, witty and stylish approach to the project and we’re delighted to be sharing the images ahead of the Virgin Media BAFTAs this Friday.” 
 
The Virgin Media BAFTAs is on Friday 31 July on BBC One at 19:00 BST. This year’s nominees are invited to get involved through a combination of video linkups and pre-recorded acceptance speeches, with a number of celebrity presenters also on hand in-studio to announce the winners.    The Virgin Media BAFTAs recognise the very best in television programmes and performances from 2019, with Chernobyl, Fleabag, The Crown, Giri/Haji and The Virtues all leading the way with three nominations each. Virgin Media’s Must-See Moment the only award of the night to be voted for by the Great British public, celebrating the dramatic scenes, cliff hangers, laugh-out- loud and edge-ofyour-seat TV moments of 2019. It recognises the television that got the nation talking, tweeting and sharing, and those on-screen moments that truly resonated with TV fans across the UK.  
 
Tune in on Friday 31st July at 7pm on BBC ONE. 
 

-ENDS- 
 
Notes to editors: 
 
For further information, please contact:  Claire Walley, Influence (on behalf of Virgin Media) T 07784 217380 E [email protected] 
 
Emma Sweet, Influence (on behalf of Virgin Media) T 07592121384 E [email protected] 
 
Olivia McKee, Virgin Media T 0333 000 2900 E [email protected] 
 
Amanda Hearn, Multitude Media (on behalf of BAFTA) T 0207 299 4254 E [email protected] 
 
 
About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we’re expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which will extend our network to up to 17 million premises. Our interactive Virgin TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on- demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones. Virgin Mobile launched the world’s first virtual mobile network, offering fantastic value and flexible services. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Through Virgin Media Business, we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest speeds and tailor-made services. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company. Liberty Global connects 21 million customers through operations in 10 countries across Europe subscribing to 45 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services. It also serves 6 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service through 12 million access points across its footprint.