Greg Davies will preside over the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises on Sunday, May 10 — expect a night of warmth, wit and celebration
The British Academy has tapped comedian and presenter Greg Davies to front the 2026 BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises. The ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, May 10 at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London and will be broadcast that evening on BBC One and iPlayer. This appointment highlights BAFTA’s intent to balance star power with a host who is widely recognised for blending physical presence, comic timing and an easy rapport with performers and audiences.
Davies brings a long résumé as a performer and presenter, from his breakout as the imposing Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners to creating and starring in Man Down, writing and leading BBC One’s comedy-crime show The Cleaner, and hosting panel and challenge formats such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Taskmaster. BAFTA framed the hire as a move to inject genuine surprise and laughter into the awards night while maintaining a celebratory tone for television’s creative community.
BAFTA praised Davies as one of the U.K.’s most cherished comedians and highlighted his ability to combine a commanding stage persona with warmth. The organisation noted that his work on Taskmaster, where he oversees the antics of contestants with host Alex Horne’s creative contrivances, demonstrates an aptitude for blending authority and playful unpredictability. In practical terms, BAFTA sees his presence as a way to shepherd the show through scripted moments and spontaneous comedy. This balance — the capacity to manage both planned segments and improvised set pieces — is central to the role of awards host and was a key factor in the selection.
Greg Davies said he was delighted to take on the role and described the evening as an opportunity to champion television. In a characteristic quip, he indicated he planned to keep the atmosphere convivial while allowing for a little mischief aimed at people he cheekily singled out. His comedy background and history of live and recorded presenting suggest he intends to keep proceedings lively without overshadowing the industry figures being honoured.
The BAFTA Television Awards celebrate the programmes and practitioners that resonated with the academy’s television voting membership over the previous year. BAFTA will reveal the nominations for competitive categories — across both the Television Awards and the Television Craft Awards — at the nominated announcement window on Tuesday 24th March 2026 at 12pm GMT. The event will also spotlight the public-facing P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award, a category decided by viewers that recognises an instantly resonant piece of television drama or entertainment. This public-voted award is designed to connect the live ceremony to the national conversation around TV moments.
Alongside voting for the Memorable Moment Award, BAFTA offers members of the public opportunities to engage, including prize draws connected to voting. Previous ceremonies have seen programmes such as Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Mr Loverman and Baby Reindeer receive major recognition, and recent winners have underscored the awards’ role in elevating both established and emerging work. The broadcast partnership with BBC One and iPlayer ensures nationwide access to the ceremony and its highlights.
Davies’s style on Taskmaster — equal parts exasperation and affectionate teasing — suggests the BAFTA Television Awards may adopt a tone that privileges warmth and comic surprise over a deadpan or purely formal presentation. BAFTA’s executive director of awards & content, Emma Baehr, welcomed Davies’s “sharp humour, warmth and energy” as elements that will help showcase the breadth of television craft and performance over the year. This emphasis on craft and range reflects BAFTA’s stated mission to honour ambition across the industry.
Recent editions of the ceremony have rewarded a mix of drama and comedy and have produced notable first-time winners, reinforcing the awards’ status as a benchmark within the television calendar. With Davies at the microphone and a line-up of nominees to be announced in late March, the 2026 BAFTA Television Awards are positioning themselves to be a high-profile evening that celebrates the storytelling, performance and production work that defined the previous year.
In sum, viewers can tune in to watch Greg Davies host on Sunday, May 10, as BAFTA aims to combine a sense of ceremony with moments of levity. Whether through carefully staged tributes or spontaneous jokes, the host’s role will be to hold the night together while keeping attention on the creative achievements being recognised across British television.