Bafta scraps special awards for 2022 after Noel Clarke sexual misconduct allegations

Bafta was told about Clarke allegations before he was given award, but said that ‘no evidence was provided’

(Getty Images)

Bafta has announced that they will not give out any special awards at its Film and Game 2022 ceremonies.

Last year, actor Noel Clarke received the special prize for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema at the 2021 film awards, but was publicly accused of sexual harassment and misconduct by 20 women days later.

While Bafta suspended Clarke, it was claimed in the original report that they had been told about the allegations before the show and had continued to reward Clarke for his work anyway.

Bafta did not dispute that it had received “anonymous emails and reports of allegations via intermediaries”, but said that “no evidence was provided” that would allow an investigation to take place.

On Monday (24 January), the awards body announced that no special recognition awards would be given at this year’s film and game Baftas in order to fully incorporate changes regarding how recipients are chosen.

A statement read: “[A recent review] concluded that these awards remain a vital way to celebrate excellence and inspire future generations of talent across film, games and television and we look forward to honouring exceptional contributions to these industries in the future.

“Due to the time needed to properly implement the recommendations of this review, these non-competitive awards, including the Fellowship, will not be part of this year’s film awards or games awards ceremonies in 2022, but we intend to present special awards at our television awards ceremony in May.”

The Bafta Fellowship is a lifetime achievement award and was won last year by director Ang Lee (Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

As part of the changes, members will be urged to be more involved in suggesting candidates for consideration.

A new committee will also be introduced its role is to support the sector committees and play a part in overseeing a rolling longlist of potential Special Awards recipients.

The 2022 Bafta Film Awards will take place on 13 March.