BAFTA Awards: Tennant ropes in stars, from Martin Sheen to Judi Dench, for opening act

London: ‘Dr Who’ star David Tennant roped in a host of celebrity friends for his opening monologue at the BAFTAs, reports ‘Variety’.

The 2024 show started at the Royal Festival Hall in London with Tennant re-enacting his hit pandemic show ‘Staged’ alongside Michael Sheen, the premise being that Sheen wants Tennant to dog-sit his pup Bark Ruffalo on the same night as the BAFTAs.

Tennant tries to pass the dog on to his friends, including Stanley Tucci, Himesh Patel, Tom Hiddleston and Judi Dench. With no one to palm him off on, Tennant turned up in person at the venue with Bark Ruffalo in tow, notes ‘Variety’.

Taking to the stage Tennant joked his monologue was more than three and a half hours long and that the evening was sure to go “smoother than Ken’s chest”, referring to the plastic doll played by Ryan Gosling in the hit movie ‘Barbie’.

He also noted that the audience — wearing black tie and evening dresses — reminded him of the opening scene in ‘Saltburn’. But he added that he hoped the end of the night wouldn’t be reminiscent of the movie’s final scene, which sees BAFTA lead actor nominee Barry Keoghan stripping off, adds ‘Variety’.

This year’s awards mark the first time Tennant has hosted the BAFTAs, with the ‘Doctor Who’ star following last year’s host Richard E. Grant.

Speaking to ‘Variety’ just before the ceremony began, Tennant said he had taken down notes from the recent Golden Globes, where host Jo Koy’s jokes, including one aimed at Taylor Swift, did not land well.

“Don’t diss Tay Tay, I think is the lesson to be learned,” Tennant said. “I live in a house of Taylor Swift fans, so I know better.”

–IANS