Quite simply it’s the biggest date for British cinema during the film awards season.
They’re run by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - an independent charity set up in 1947 by a group of British film producers which aims to develop and honour the best films, TV shows and games.
As well as selecting what it thinks is the best film, actress and actor, it also recognises people for outstanding achievement in films by awarding them the Bafta fellowship.
Previous winners include Steven Spielberg, Dame Helen Mirren and Charlie Chaplin.
Samantha Morton is the recipient this year.
Welcome to our Baftas coverage
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Stars including Margot Robbie will be seen on the red carpetImage caption: Stars including Margot Robbie will be seen on the red carpet
Welcome to this year’s Bafta Film Awards, with a host of stars expected to grace the red carpet in central London shortly, ahead of this evening’s glamorous ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall.
So who can we expect to see? Fans of the silver screen are hoping to glimpse stars from the front-running films, including Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr from Oppenheimer, Margot Robbie (above) and Ryan Gosling from Barbie, and Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan from Maestro.
The Prince of Wales, who is Bafta's president, will be attending too. But he’ll be without his wife Catherine, who is still recovering after abdominal surgery.
Our correspondents will be bringing you news from the red carpet and awards ceremony - hosted this year by David Tennant - as it happens. Stick with us for the latest.
Live Reporting
Edited by Lauren Turner and Michael Sheils McNamee
All times stated are UK
What are the Baftas?
Quite simply it’s the biggest date for British cinema during the film awards season.
They’re run by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts - an independent charity set up in 1947 by a group of British film producers which aims to develop and honour the best films, TV shows and games.
As well as selecting what it thinks is the best film, actress and actor, it also recognises people for outstanding achievement in films by awarding them the Bafta fellowship.
Previous winners include Steven Spielberg, Dame Helen Mirren and Charlie Chaplin.
Samantha Morton is the recipient this year.
Welcome to our Baftas coverage
Welcome to this year’s Bafta Film Awards, with a host of stars expected to grace the red carpet in central London shortly, ahead of this evening’s glamorous ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall.
So who can we expect to see? Fans of the silver screen are hoping to glimpse stars from the front-running films, including Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr from Oppenheimer, Margot Robbie (above) and Ryan Gosling from Barbie, and Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan from Maestro.
The Prince of Wales, who is Bafta's president, will be attending too. But he’ll be without his wife Catherine, who is still recovering after abdominal surgery.
Our correspondents will be bringing you news from the red carpet and awards ceremony - hosted this year by David Tennant - as it happens. Stick with us for the latest.