BAFTAs get an Aussie host – as Critics Choice Awards plan to air on same day

Pitch Perfect actress Rebel Wilson will host the BAFTA Film Awards in March from the Royal Albert Hall, the academy has announced.

The Australian actress will present the awards on 13 March, taking over from previous hosts of the event Edith Bowman and Dermot O’Leary.

“I am very honoured to be hosting the EE British Academy Film Awards in March, where COVID will no longer exist because it will clearly have been cancelled by then,” the Cats actress said.

“It’s going to be so much fun! I don’t wanna put any pressure on this – I know I’m not going to be funny because I am no longer fat.

“And besides, I’m not going to ‘sweat-it’ with nerves because I have a peculiar medical condition where I can’t sweat… or cause offence to people because of my adorable Australian accent.

“So basically I’ll just be there to hang out with Dame Judi Dench and together we’ll both try and bond with Daniel Craig.

“And yes, I do mean ‘bond’. This show will be an anniversary celebration of some important British film franchises such as Harry Potter and not such as Cats. Everybody’s going to love it, I’m sure!”

The shortlist for the BAFTA Film Awards will be revealed on 3 February, with longlist going out earlier in the week.

Celebs get to pick between London and Los Angeles on 13 March

But the BAFTAs will have some stateside competition, with the Critics Choice Awards organisers announcing it will take place on the same night.

It means major stars in the world of film will have to decide between which glitzy ceremony to attend – with both events often trailed as major Oscars predictors.

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) had previously been set to go ahead last weekend, but was postponed amid concerns around the Omicron COVID variant.

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CCA chief executive Joey Berlin said: “Following the science and tracking the course of the Omicron variant, we believe that March 13th will be the right day to properly honour the finest achievements in film and television during the past year.

“We could have proceeded with our original January 9th date with limited attendance or switched to a virtual awards show like we did last year… but we decided to wait until we could safely gather in person and truly celebrate with the creative community, industry leaders and our CCA members all together in one beautiful setting for all the world to see.”

Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film Belfast is among those films tipped for success at both ceremonies, with West Side Story, Dune and The Power Of The Dog also with numerous nominations.

The winners of both awards shows will be revealed on 13 March.