Planet Earth II: Snakes vs Iguana Chase has won the British Academy Television Award for TV’s Must See Moment, triumphing over fellow nominees Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards, Line of Duty: Urgent Exit Required, Strictly Come Dancing: Ed Balls’ Gangnam Style, Who Do You Think You Are?: Danny Dyer’s Origins and The Late Late Show with James Corden: Carpool Karaoke with Michelle Obama.


Balls’ performance on Strictly was one of the most talked-about moments of TV last year, while the Planet Earth II moment had viewers on the edge of their sofas willing the iguanas to escape.

Meanwhile, EastEnders actor Dyer discovering that he was related to Royalty was one of the most surprising moments of TV to air in 2016. A video editing down his whole episode of Who Do You Think You Are? to 90 seconds also became a viral hit.

James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke with Michelle Obama has additionally had over 55 million views on YouTube.

The ceremony, held at Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank, was hosted by Sue Perkins and attended by British TV’s biggest stars including Ant and Dec, Olivia Colman, Thandie Newton and Ed Balls.

This year’s BAFTA nominations were ruled by Netflix’s The Crown with five nods, followed by BBC3’s Fleabag, BBC1’s Happy Valley and one-off BBC drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy – all with three nominations.


In order to be eligible for this year’s shortlist, programmes must have aired between 1st January and 31st December 2016, meaning the likes of Taboo, Broadchurch and Catastrophe were not considered for tonight’s ceremony.