Callum Scott Howells has had an extraordinary 12 hours – wait, scrap that – he’s had an unbelievable 12 months since debuting on TV as It’s A Sin’s Colin.
But the past 12 hours were the icing on the cake when the 22-year-old actor from Tonyrefail won Best Actor at the Royal Television Awards on Tuesday, March 29 and then received a Bafta nomination the following morning.
It’s not only Callum who’s deservedly over-performing at the current crop of TV award ceremonies, Welsh-made TV is flying high with plenty of wins and nominations. At the RTS Awards at Grosvenor House, Gabrielle Creevy won Best Female Actor for her role in In My Skin, which also picked up Best Drama Series. It’s A Sin also won Best Limited Series and writer Russell T Davies took home the award for Best Writer. In My Skin and It’s A Sin also came in with multiple nominations at the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards, read more on those, here.
Read more: Callum Scott Howells big interview
As far as the Baftas are concerned, Callum’s Best Supporting Actor nomination goes hand-in-hand with the Must See Moment nomination he’s also up for. It’s the scene in It’s A Sin – Russell T Davies’ smash hit drama on how the Aids crisis decimated the gay community in the ’80s – where the young actor excels. Colin is a young tailor who moves to London from the valleys and ends up contracting the disease which ultimately kills him. The heartbreaking scene where he realises he’s going to die is probably a huge part of why he’s scooping up all these accolades.
Since it aired in January last year, the former Treorchy Comprehensive School pupil who learned his craft on stage at the Park and Dare Theatre, has barely taken a breath, with his first award for Best Actor coming in October at the Bafta Cymru Awards. He’s also filmed new Netflix film, The Beautiful Game, alongside Bill Nighy, Top Boy’s Michael Ward, Valerina Golino from Rain Man and Enola Holmes’ Susan Wokoma.
The judges at the RTS Awards said of Callum’s award-winning performance: “A really fine performance of profound tenderness and subtlety – a performance that lives long in the mind.” And on his Bafta nomination this morning, he told Good Morning Wales: “I really can’t believe it, my jaw is on the floor…I’m so chuffed.”
(Image: BBC)
The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards will be held on Sunday, May 8, when Welsh TV hit, In My Skin will find out if it scoops Best Drama. Writer, Kayleigh Llewellyn, is also up for the writing award – which will be announced at the Bafta TV Craft Awards on Sunday, April 24. Meanwhile, at the RTS Awards, the judges said that its star, Gabrielle Creevy gave an “exceptional” performance in the BBC Three drama, which aired its second series last year.
They said her performance was: “really very special. The actor’s skilfully nuanced work in this piece was quite exceptional”. Creevy, who stars as teenager Bethan whose home life is not what she portrays it to be to her schoolmates, has also been seen in BBC’s The Pact and will be on the big screen this year in Operation Mincemeat, opposite Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald.
Find out how It’s A Sin, In My Skin and Callum fare at The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards on Sunday, May 8. For more TV news, click here.