A BBC representative has insisted that David Tennant’s joke about Donald Trump was not cut from this year’s Baftas for any reason other than time constraints.
On Sunday night, the Doctor Who star hosted the British film awards for the second year running, kicking things off with a hearty rendition of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) before going into a monologue reflecting on some of the nominated films.
Describing The Brutalist as “a film about incredible architecture”, David then noted: “In fact, it’s the boldest architecture in film this year, apart from Donald Trump’s hair in The Apprentice.”
Warming to his theme, the three-time Bafta winner then quipped that Trump himself had not seen The Apprentice, as its 15-certificate meant it was “not on Nickelodeon”.
“I’m worried, I’ve said his name three times,” David then added. “It’s like Beetlejuice – I’ve summoned him. And talking of villains…”
However, none of this made it into the final Baftas broadcast, although it was later uploaded onto the film body’s official YouTube page.
A spokesperson for the BBC has since told The Standard: “As in previous years, due to the nature of the show it is broadcast with a short delay, and while we always aim to keep the core sentiment of acceptance speeches, edits have to be made due to time constraints.”
Going into this year’s awards show, David claimed he was “not interested in picking fights or making anyone feel in any way uncomfortable” after accidentally offending one of last year’s A-list guests.
Click here for the full low-down on the 2025 Baftas ceremony.