Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
The BBC removed some of David Tennant’s jokes about Donald Trump from its Bafta broadcast.
Hollywood’s brightest stars arrived at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (16 February) for an evening celebrating the year’s best films.
Having hosted last year’s awards show, Tennant returned for a second stint as presenter – opening the ceremony with a big musical number with some help from famous faces in the crowd such as James McAvoy and Selena Gomez.
The coverage – which started at 7pm, two hours after the awards began – is edited down to a two-hour length, meaning that some of the event must be trimmed down for time.
Notably, some of Tennant’s material about the US president was left on the cutting room floor.
In the live show, as reported by Deadline, the Doctor Who star joked that it was unlikely Trump had seen The Apprentice – in which Sebastian Stan plays a young version of the businessman – because “it’s a 15 [the film’s UK rating] and it’s not on Nickelodeon.”
He added: “Donald Trump. I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice – I have summoned him.”
A BBC spokesperson told The Independent: “The nature of the show is that it’s broadcast with a short delay, and edits have to be made due to time constraints.”

One joke that did make it into the broadcast, however, was about the politician’s hair, with Tennant calling it “the boldest architecture” in film – even more so than The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody as a visionary architect.
He also referred to Trump as a villain, comparing him to “Nosferatu, Hugh Grant in Heretic, and most chilling of all, [Wallace and Gromit antagonist] Feather McGraw” in a moment that seemed to delight Mark Hamill and Kate Winslet in the audience.
Prior to that, the Good Omens star kicked off proceedings with a rambunctious performance of “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Pretenders, with appearances from James McAvoy, Anna Kendrick, Selena Gomez, and Colman Domingo, all of whom chimed in from their auditorium seats.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Try for free
Elsewhere during the awards show, Warwick Davis left viewers at home in tears with his emotional tribute to his late wife.
It was a big night for Conclave, which claimed the Best Film award having also bagged the prize for Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.
The Brutalist won four awards including Best Actor and Best Director for Adrien Brody and Brady Corbet respectively. Best Supporting Actress went to Zoe Saldaña for her role in Emilia Pérez, while Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain.
The Independent listed the winners live as they were revealed, hours before the televised broadcast began on BBC One at 7pm. See the full list of winners here.