I Swear Bafta winner Robert Aramayo pays tribute to 'remarkable' John Davidson

The 33-year-old was perhaps not the favourite to win the award, facing a strong line-up of nominees including Leonardo DiCaprio (for One Battle After Another), Timothee Chalamet (for Marty Supreme) and Ethan Hawke (for Blue Moon).

But in addition to bagging best actor, Aramayo also picked up the rising star award, the only category of the night decided by a public vote.

The Kirk Jones film follows Davidson’s life as he grows up in Galashiels, when he starts to experience tics at age 12.

Accepting the prize, Aramayo said: “This is really scary, last time I was at Bafta I dropped the award, so hopefully this will go better.”

He added: “I can’t believe this, it really blows my mind.”

“John Davidson is the most remarkable person I’ve ever met and he believes there is so much more we need to learn about Tourette’s.

“In the words of the film, they need support and understanding.”

Campaigner Mr Davidson who also attended the red carpet last night said he was “extremely proud of what was created” and the impact the film has had.

He added: “The power that the film’s got is the fact that it’s opened people’s eyes to the real issues."

He went on to praise Aramayo for being “absolutely phenomenal” in his portrayal, adding his ability to characterise his tics shows “the calibre” of the actor.

One Battle After Another was the big winner at the Awards.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s film about a washed-up revolutionary searching for his missing teenage daughter won six categories from 14 nominations, including best film, best director, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Sean Penn.

Irish actress Jessie Buckley continued her domination of awards season as she was named best actress for Hamnet.

She has proved unbeatable for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife Agnes Hathaway – historically known as Anne – in the big-screen adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel about the family life of William Shakespeare and the death of their young son.

The film, directed by Chloe Zhao, was also named outstanding British film.

Accepting the award, Buckley said: “As a little girl, I never in a million years thought I would get to make a film.”

Recalling her early days as an actress, she said: “I had nuclear bad fake tan on, white hoop earrings, a polka-dot red skirt and had the audacity to say one day I wanted to be like Judi Dench.

“This is nuts, this really does belong to the women past, present and future who taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently.”

Addressing her fellow nominees, Buckley said: “You are all just radical and you are doing it for the naughty girls, and I’m in awe of all your incredible performances.”

Lauren Evans picked up the award for best casting for I Swear. Peter Mullan was the sole UK contender for best supporting actor, for I Swear, but he lost out to Penn.

In the UK-only categories, Hamnet was named best British film; Akinola Davies Jr and his brother Wale Davies picked up the award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer, for their family drama My Father’s Shadow; This Is Endometriosis took the prize for best British short film; Two Black Boys in Paradise was named best British short animation; and Clare Binns, creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas, won the award for outstanding British contribution tocinema.

British-Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku won the best supporting actress prize, beating nominees including Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another and Emily Watson for Hamnet.

Referencing her role in the highly acclaimed vampire film, Mosaku said: “I found a part of myself in Annie, a part of my hopes, my ancestral power and connection, parts I thought I had lost or tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in.”

The Prince of Wales spoke at the event of needing to be in a “calm state” to watch Hamnet as he attended the Bafta awards, adding: “I’m not at the moment”.

William, who is president of the arts charity, walked down the red carpet with his wife, the Princess of Wales, at the Royal Festival Hall by the South Bank in London last night in his first public appearance since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.

The royal couple chatted to representatives from Bafta and the Southbank Centre before taking their seats in the star-studded auditorium for the awards ceremony.

William told Elaine Bedell, chief executive of the Southbank Centre, and Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT Group, that he had yet to see Hamnet.

“I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment,” he said.

“I will save it.”

Kate said she saw the highly nominated film on Saturday.

Chatting with the chairwoman of Bafta’s film committee, Emily Stillman, and executive director of the charity’s awards and content, Emma Baehr, the princess said: “Yes, I think it was a very bad idea actually… ended up with very puffy eyes.”

She said it was “really very very powerful”, praising the “fantastic” and “raw” music score and talking about its portrayal of “intergenerational grief”.