Bafta awards 2019: Eddie Marsan says Britain 'reinvented its past to justify Brexit' in presenters speech

He made the comment while presenting the award for Best Costume Design, alongside Cynthia Erivo

Clarisse Loughrey

Sunday 10 February 2019 21:53

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Baftas 2019: Who are the nominees?

Eddie Marsan dropped the night’s first real jab at the Brexit chaos at the 2019 Bafta awards.

While presenting the award for Best Costume Design with Cynthia Erivo, the actor described the difficulty of creating historically accurate costumes for films set in the UK.

He then added that it was particularly difficult to do since Britain had “reinvented its past to justify Brexit”.

The night elsewhere was almost entirely absent of real political statement, save for a brief mention of brexit from Andy Serkis, who also made an unintentional dig at Queen guitarist Brian May while presenting the award for Best Original Music.

Host Joanna Lumley, however, couldn’t resist a jab at the current Oscars controversy in her opening monologue.

Baftas 2019: Best dressed guests on the red carpet

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1/35Baftas 2019: Best dressed guests on the red carpet

The British actor looks chic in a white tuxedo by Stella McCartney on the red carpet.

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Gurira stuns in a black floor-length dress with a corset structured waist.

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Rodriguez wears a gold draped dress with a plunging neckline.

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Colman looks sophisticated in a white and black boat neck gown with an exaggerated train.

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Blanchett dazzles in a black low-cut floor-length dress with an oversized necklace.

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The actor wears an emerald green dress with a black bow detail in the centre.

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Weisz wears a white layered dress with exaggerated shoulder details and a silver waistband.

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Robbie wears a white embellished dress by Chanel Couture with oversized navy coloured shoulder detailing on the red carpet.

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The Duchess of Cambridge is wearing an asymmetric Grecian-style dress by Alexander McQueen to the event.

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Shayk is keeping things simple in a black tuxedo.

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Debicki is wearing a black sleeveless dress with a knee-high slit.

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The actor is wearing a red and purple paneled ankle-length dress with structured shoulder detailing.

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Cardellini is wearing a white and light pink corseted prom-inspired dress on the red carpet.

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Hayek is wearing an asymmetric black gown with a gold shoulder embellishment. She has accessorized the look with a matching coloured clutch bag.

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The actor has teamed a regal-inspired blue and gold off the shoulder corseted dress with a gold clutch bag and a diamond set necklace chain and pendant.

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McCarthy wears a black long-sleeved gown teamed with a white envelope clutch bag and diamond earrings.

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Foy is dressed in a strapless green fringe dress with a thigh-high split.

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The actor and model wears a long-sleeved orange coloured dress with gold heeled sandals.

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Close wears a black V-neck gown with silver detailing at the waist.

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The singer wears a white structured suit by Ralph and Russo featuring a gold belt, embellishment and a train.

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Erivo wears a Cinderella-inspired pale peach-hued dress with a purple trim for the event.

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The Hollywood star is wearing a navy two-piece outfit, featuring a cropped blazer and layered semi-sheer skirt.

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The actor has donned a fuchsia pink dress with an elongated train and black straps for the event.

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The actor and model is serving Hollywood glamour on the red carpet dressed in a black gown with a plunging neckline and spaghetti straps. She has teamed the look with a large diamond necklace

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The British broadcaster is wearing a sheer panelled dress with a thigh-high split on the red carpet.

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The Westworld actor stuns in a black tulle strapless gown with a white zigzag motif.

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The British costume designer chose to wear a black and white suit with black platform heels and a black beret for the event.

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The model wears a floor-length silver embellished dress.

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The actor wears a pink one-shoulder bow dress with red and silver fringing.

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The Oscar winner is wearing a white and black floor-length gown for the awards ceremony.

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The Hollywood star is wearing a burgundy-hued, belted dress with a plunging neckline.

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The Bohemian Rhapsody actor wears a floor-length metallic multi-coloured printed gold dress with a black bow.

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The film producer wears a gold Vampire's Wife dress with butterfly detailing.

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The television presenter wears a sheer metallic silver high-neck corset-style dress.

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The broadcaster wears a floral pink floor-length dress with red and green embroidered detailing and black fingerless leather gloves.

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“Thank goodness Bafta has a host, though I suspect that has to do with the fact that I’m not on Twitter,” she joked.

Oscars organisers have confirmed that this year’s ceremony will have no official host for the first time in 30 years, after Kevin Hart stepped down after a number of old tweets resurfaced in which the comedian expressed homophobic views.

She also lightly mocked A Star is Born director Bradley Cooper who – as director, star, producer, and screenwriter – Lumley declared was a “multitalented genius” who “needs to learn how to delegate”.

While referencing Alfonso Cuarón’s nominations in six different categories, Lumley then turned to Cooper and added: “pull your finger out, sweetheart”.

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