David Tennant mocks ‘villain’ Donald Trump at BAFTAs | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

The BAFTA Film Awards 2025’s host David Tennant has mocked the next US president Donald Trump in his opening monologue for the ceremony on Sunday evening (16th February).

The Doctor Who star returned to host the awards for the second year running, taking to the stage to The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).

He sang “walked 500 miles just to host one BAFTAs more” and immediately touched on some controversial topics as he launched into his opening spiel.

Following Trump’s divisive re-election in November 2024, Tennant slammed the president to a room full of Hollywood stars and British A-listers.

He evoked the president while commenting on The Brutalist, describing it as “a film about incredible architecture. In fact, it’s the boldest architecture in film this year, apart from Donald Trump’s hair in The Apprentice.”

Referring to the biographical film based on Trump’s life which stars Sebastian Stan as the real estate mogul, he quipped it’s unlikely the president had seen it.

“It’s a 15 and it’s not on Nickelodeon,” Tennant jibed, per Deadline, sparking laughter from the audience.

“Donald Trump… I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice – I’ve summoned him.”

He then continued, “Talking of villains”, though paused for a moment as the crowd continued to laugh. “We’ve got many this year, not just Nosferatu.”

Tennant, who impressed audiences last year with his starring role in the steamy Disney+ drama Rivals, already raised eyebrows with another dig at Trump during his first time hosting the BAFTAs.

Mentioning the acclaimed Yorgos Lanthimos film Poor Things, he described the premise as “a child’s brain is put in an adult’s body.”

He then joked prophetically: “And later this year, one of those may be reelected president.”

Trump-based drama The Apprentice is up for three trophies at the BAFTAs, including Best Casting and acting nods for leading man Stan and supporting star Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn.

Leading the charge this year is the religious thriller Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes, which is up for an impressive 12 awards.

Controversial musical Emilia Perez isn’t far behind with 11 nominations, while Brady Corbet’s stirring historical epic The Brutalist has nine nods.

British standouts include the anarchic biopic Kneecap, about the Belfast-based Northern Irish rap group of the same name, which has six nominations, and Steve McQueen’s World War II drama Blitz, starring Saoirse Ronan.

The BAFTA Film Awards 2025 airs from 7pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.