Alan Cumming to host Bafta ceremony for first time

Scottish star Alan Cumming will host the Bafta TV awards for the first time when he presents the ceremony in May.

The 60-year-old actor, writer and presenter – known for hosting the US version of The Traitors and American drama The Good Wife – will helm the event at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London.

For the previous two years, the ceremony has been jointly presented by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan – who have fronted Sky TV show Rob & Romesh vs… together.

The nominations for the best TV of 2024 will be announced this Thursday at midday.

Actor Alan Cumming | Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Emma Baehr, executive director of awards and content at Bafta, said Cumming “will definitely bring a playful sense of mischief and fun to the ceremony, so audiences should expect the unexpected”.

She added: “The sheer quality, innovation and breadth of talent in British television in front of and behind the camera is second to none, and we look forward to honouring and celebrating these talented people at our upcoming awards ceremonies.”

The Perthshire-born star is also known for his stage success, taking home the best actor in a musical Tony award for his 1998 performance in the Weimar Republic-set Cabaret, after an flamboyant portrayal as the Emcee character saw him Olivier-nominated at the 1994 ceremony.

He has picked up an 1991 comedy performance Olivier Award for a production of the Italian play Accidental Death of an Anarchist and hosted the 2015 Tony Awards with Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth.

Cumming’s first feature film Prague – where he plays a young Scot returning home to his grandparents’ country – earned him a 1993 Scottish best actor Bafta nod.

He soon went on to feature in a remake of Get Carter, BBC period drama The Last Romantics, and James Bond thriller GoldenEye.

In the 2000s, he took on some of his biggest roles – playing the children’s TV host Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids film series and the blue devil-like mutant Nightcrawler in the 2003 X2 film, who serves as a focal point for the main plot.

His other film work has included thriller Ripley Under Ground and The Smurfs animated movies as kilt-wearing Gutsy Smurf.

Cumming is also due to appear in upcoming project Glenrothan, playing fellow Scot Brian Cox’s brother.

He first joined political legal drama The Good Wife as a season one guest star, playing PR guru Eli Gold, and went on to star in the series until it ended in 2015 with a final seventh season.

During his time on the programme, he was nominated for three Emmys and two Golden Globes.

In 2018, Cumming won the Scottish Bafta for outstanding contribution to film and TV, and in 2023 he became a host of The Traitors.

The American version of the psychological game show is different from the British version as the contestants include reality stars.

However, it is set in the same castle in the Scottish Highlands as the BBC version fronted by Claudia Winkleman, and the seasons have featured similar ideas such as a fake funeral for an eliminated contestant.

It also landed Cumming two Emmys, one as host of the reality format and a second as a producer for the show when it won outstanding reality competition program at the 2024 ceremony.

He recently became artistic director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.