Hosting the Bafta Britannia Awards in LA

British comedian James Veitch has scored a major coup – by being asked to host this year’s Bafta  Britannia Awards in Los Angeles.

The stand-up – known for chronicling his nerdy pranks online – follows in the footsteps of Jack Whitehall, Stephen Fry, Billy Connolly, Whoopi Goldberg and last year’s presenter Doc Brown.

At the star-studded event, John C. Reilly will present Steve Coogan with the Charlie Chaplin award for excellence in comedy and Donald Glover will present Phoebe Waller-Bridge with the award for British artist of the year. 

Chantal Rickards, chief executive of Bafta Los Angeles said: ‘We are delighted that James Veitch will be hosting this year's Britannia Awards, and look forward to witnessing his undeniable charm, comedy and interactive material that has garnered him national attention.’

Veitch added: ‘I am really excited to be hosting the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards, but also to find out whether I'm being paid. I genuinely don't think I'm being paid for this gig.’

The comic is best known for his three TED Talks, with his account of replying to spam email the most-watched video on the organisation’s YouTube channel, with 43million views – plus another 52million on the TED website. He has twice appeared on Conan O’Brien’s US talk show.

The Bafta  Britannia Awards ceremony takes place on Friday October 25 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

In other categories, Vin Diesel will present Jackie Chan with an award for worldwide contribution to entertainment;  Lupita Nyong'o will present Jordan Peele with an award for directing; and Kerry Washington will present Norman Lear with the award for excellence in television.

Published: 17 Oct 2019