The Baftas is one of the biggest and most glamorous showbiz nights of the year, which is why Joanna Lumley is the ideal choice for taking on hosting duties. The 72-year-old actress, activist, author and presenter will host the awards on 10 February at the Royal Albert Hall. Joanna will return for a second time after presenting the awards in place of Stephen Fry last year, who stepped down from the role after 12 years. Emma Baehr, Bafta’s director of awards, said: "She was fantastic and we’re looking forward to the ceremony with her once again at the helm." The full list of the nominations for will be announced on 9 January.
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Joanna Lumley chatting to Jonanthan Ross last year
The Bafta Rising Stars nominations have also been released this week, which honours young actors and actresses who have shown outstanding talent over the past year. Jessie Buckley, Cynthia Erivo, Barry Keoghan, Lakeith Stanfield and Letitia Wright are all nominated for the prize. The nominees were put forward by jurors including Rosamund Pike, Richard Madden, Ray Panthaki and film broadcaster, Edith Bowman.
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WATCH: Joanna Lumley shares her timeless style tips
Joanna's exciting news comes after the sad announcement that her former Absolutely Fabulous co-star June Whitfield died last Friday. Joanna was one of the many celebrities to pay tribute to 93-year-old June, taking to Twitter to write: "Sad news just in. The brilliant and gorgeous June Whitfield has sadly passed away at the age of 93. Thoughts go to her family and friends." Jennifer Saunders - who wrote Ab Fab - also shared a statement which read: "It's so tremendously sad to lose June. I will always be grateful that she agreed to be in Ab Fab and even more grateful that she became a dear friend." However, Joanna had talked about the possibility of filming a new episode of Ab Fab last year. She teased Jonathan Ross on his chat show, saying: "Jennifer Saunders wrote it. It belongs to her. If she says she’ll do more, she shall and if she won’t - and she has said she won’t - then she won’t."
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