Sherlock star Phil Davis announces he’s rescinded Bafta membership over ‘embarrassing’ 2023 awards show

Veteran actor Phil Davis has announced he has quit Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) over its 2023 awards show, which he called “embarrassing”.

In a blistering indictment of Sunday’s (19 February) ceremony, Davis – who starred as the first killer in Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock saga – tweeted: “The BAFTA awards were an embarrassing travesty.

“Cutting deserving winners speeches for toe-curling non-interviews. Poor Richard E Grant pretending to arrive in a Batmobile and no Bernard Cribbins in memorium. I resigned my membership.”

The Independent has contacted Bafta for comment.

After facing criticism over Cribbins’ omission from the In Memorium segment, Bafta tweeted that the Doctor Who star was being “considered” for the TV awards.

In response to this, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies seethed: “It’s fair enough to remember Bernard Cribbins at the TV @bafta, not the film. To say he’s being ‘considered’ is the work of an idiot.”

Bafta later confirmed Cribbins would be remembered at its TV awards in May.

This year’s film awards were co-hosted by the somewhat incongruous duo of Grant and Alison Hammond, the latter of whom said she felt like a “competition winner” when she was on stage.

In her talking points summing up the night’s entertainment, The Independent’s Ellie Harrison noted Grant’s obvious nerves on the night.

“His hands were trembling, and at one point he accidentally referred to himself as the night’s toast, rather than its host,” she wrote.

“Nice to a fault, he opted to avoid making any jokes at the expense of the stars in attendance, and he was seen welling up as introduced the In Memoriam segment.”

The night was also marked by a meme-worthy performance from West Side Story star Ariana DeBose, who recently broke her silence on the mockery her segment received.

Find a full rundown of the 2023 Baftas here, as well as the full list of winners here.