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BAFTA stars swap pyjamas for frocks as they pose at home ahead of award ceremony

Celebs

BAFTA stars swap pyjamas for fancy frocks as they pose at home ahead of award ceremony

Rankin has captured stars at home but in their finest frocks, as they prepare to tune into the biggest night in television like TV fans across the country

This year’s BAFTA nominated TV stars have posed at home for celebrity photographer Rankin ahead of Friday’s ceremony at a closed studio.

From Suranne Jones playing board games to Ncuti Gatwa in his garden and Stephen Graham on his trampoline, Rankin has captured stars at home but in their finest frocks, as they prepare to tune into the biggest night in television like TV fans across the country for the first time.

Other nominees who took part in this first-of-its-kind shoot include Takehiro Hira, Samantha Morton, Glenda Jackson and Jamie Demetriou.

Former Coronation Street star Suranne, 41, is in the Leading Actress category for her part in BBC drama Gentleman Jack, where she faces competition from Morton, 43, who starred in Channel 4’s I Am Kirsty, and Jackson, 84, who appeared in Elizabeth Is Missing on BBC1.

Graham, 46, and Hira, 46, are both up against each other in the Leading Actor category.

Photographer Rankin said: "I am so excited to have shot the 2020 Virgin Media BAFTAs nominee portraits."

He added: "Despite the limitations, we have created a memorable series of photographs and it has been a real honour to capture some of the biggest TV stars in the intimacy of their own homes.

"To be able to virtually connect, direct, shoot and deliver these portraits without any physical interaction has been a fun challenge and our TV celebrities put on quite the performance for us!"

Rankin and BAFTA came together to create this unique shoot ahead of this years’ Awards ceremony, capturing the essence of the Awards from the safety and comfort of the nominees’ homes.

The shoot was virtually connected, directed and delivered through a series of video calls, with the help of families and friends of the nominees who took part.

Speaking this week ahead of the awards, Suranne said she was excited more female stories are coming through on screen.

She said: “It’s about this woman or these two women and the driver is going to be investigating what makes them tick, their life."

She added: "There isn’t a dead body coming up... That’s my passion with my company and the development we’re doing. It’s just having the balls to tell the stories without there being an add-on.

“This is where you discover relationships of who you want to work with and who wants to go in the same direction as you and has the focus and drive for that and who just kind of wants to hang on to what was."

She added: "I know I want to work with daring people and I want to push things.”

This year’s nominees are invited to get involved through a combination of video linkups and pre-recorded acceptance speeches, with a number of celebrity presenters also on hand in-studio to announce the winners.

*The socially distanced Virgin Media BAFTAs air tomorrow on BBC1 at 7pm.