Winslet, 47, won the best actress award for her performance in the Channel 4 drama I Am Ruth, in which a mother and her real-life daughter, Mia Threapleton, deal with emotional turmoil at the screen.
In an emotional speech, the Titanic star said: “If I could break it in half, I’d give the other half to my daughter. We did this together, girl.”
The actress also said that “small dramas on British television can be powerful” and mental. health stories like this “need to be heard.”
Winslet added: “To the people in power, please criminalize harmful content, we don’t want it… to any young person who will listen, please ask for help, it will be there, just ask.”
It was the second appearance for Winslet who joined the I Am Ruth team in scenery earlier in the evening when they accepted the Bafta TV Award for Single Drama.
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Among those who performed was Scot Lewis Capaldi, who gave his first televised performance of the new single Wish You The Best.
Meanwhile, James Bond and Paddington star Whishaw also received a top acting award during the ceremony for his performance as a doctor under pressure in the BBC series This Is Going To Hurt.
Onstage, the 42-year-old actor said “everyone in the show is amazing” and “most of all thank you Adam Kay for writing this wonderful role.” And he added: “I am very honored and blessed.”
The medical drama is based on Kay’s book This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries Of A Junior Doctor, which chronicles her job training to be a doctor in the NHS.
It was also the second time Whishaw had appeared on stage to collect the Most Memorable Moment award for his skit as Paddington Bear with the late Queen in honor of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The ceremony also saw Channel 4’s comedy Derry Girls win two awards, with creator Lisa McGee picking up the award for best scripted comedy and actress Siobhan McSweeney winning best female performance in a comedy show for her role as the Headmistress Sister Michael.
In the humorous speech, which he delivered at double speed given the short time he was given, he said: “To the people of Derry, thank you for taking me into your hearts and into your living rooms.
“I am impressed every day how you embrace the spirit of compromise and resilience despite the humiliations, ignorance and stupidity of your so-called leaders (in) Dublin, Stormont and Westminster.
“In the words of my loving sister Michael, ‘it’s time they started realizing’.”
The comedy about a group of teenagers growing up during troubled Londonderry in the 1990s was a sleeper hit, building a huge and committed following across all three of its series.
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The night also saw Sir Mo Farah win a Bafta award for his BBC One documentary The Real Mo Farah, which revealed that he had been smuggled into the UK as a child.
Picking up the award for best individual documentary, the four-time Olympic champion dedicated the award to “children who are being trafficked.”
In her speech, she said: “Children have nothing to say, they are just children and no child should go through what I went through. I hope my story shows they are not alone, we are in this together.”
The 40-year-old thanked the BBC team because “it wasn’t easy” movie and he couldn’t have done it “without them”, while his wife Tania Nell said it was the couple’s children who “empowered” them to tell the story.
It was also a great night for entertainment shows, while ITV’s The Masked Singer battled competition from Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Strictly Come Dancing to win best entertainment programme.
Host Joel Dommett joked in his speech: “I really wasn’t expecting this, Strictly usually wins everything.
“Many thanks to ITV in the first place for believing in this silly show, it’s so silly and so wonderful, it has brought joy to so many families and homes.”
Meanwhile, the award for reality and constructed facts went to BBC One’s psychological adventure show The Traitors, which sees strangers play “the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust” in a castle in the Lands. Scottish Highs hoping to win big.
Presenter Claudia Winkleman, 51, later picked up the Bafta for her entertainment performance in the series, saying she didn’t want to get emotional because her mascara will “run” before asking her husband: “Please can we have a dog ?”.
He also “thanked” his mother and father and said it was “for you” before saying, “You can’t have it… no, but you can touch it.”
Coverage of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 also won a Bafta TV award for best sports coverage, after the Lionesses became the first England football team to win an international tournament since 1966.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 News: Live In Kyiv won a Bafta TV award for best news coverage, beating Susanna Reid’s Good Morning Britain interview with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Channel 4 Europe editor and presenter Matt Frei, who took the stage alongside presenters including Krishnan Guru-Murthy, said in a speech: “Let us remind the people of Ukraine that they cannot be here tonight, that they cannot Let’s also remember the 11 journalists who have been assassinated just for covering this conflict.
“And I’d also like to say, Channel 4, we’ve had privatization hanging over us, which makes Penny Mordaunt’s sword look like a toothpick. But it’s gone, it’s gone.
“Let’s not forget public service news broadcasting, it’s complicated, it’s expensive and sometimes it can be tedious and really depressing, but it’s also really important.”
His speech followed a speech by Bafta Chairman Krishnendu Majumdar who described public service broadcasting as a “fundamental” part of television culture in a speech.
The awards also honored stars including talk show host Jerry Springer, Strictly Come Dancing’s Len Goodman and host and drag queen Paul O’Grady, who have passed away within the past year.
Doctor Who actor Bernard Cribbins, comedian Barry Humphries, Hi-De-Hi! actress Ruth Madoc and Emmerdale star Dale Meeks were also named at the ceremony.
Lewis Capaldi gave his first televised performance of the new single Wish You The Best alongside DJ Jax Jones and singer Calum Scott, who took the stage performing their song Whistle.
Jones said, “Great, Kate Winslet” before performing the song, which also featured dancers dressed as fish onstage.
Full list of winners
The Traitors, Bad Sisters, Derry Girls, I Am Ruth picked up two awards at the Bafta TV Awards.
Here’s a full list of winners:
Female Performance in a Comedy Show – Siobhan McSweeney – Derry Girls
Reality and constructed facts – The Traitors
Short Form Program – How to be a person
Factual Specialist – Russia 1985-1999: Traumazone;
During the day – The repair shop: a real visit
Sports coverage – UEFA Women’s EURO 2022
Male Performance in a Comedy Show – Lenny Rush – Am I being unreasonable?
Entertainment Program – The Masked Singer
Supporting Actress – Anne-Marie Duff – Bad Sisters
News – Sons of the Taliban
News Coverage – Channel 4 News: Live In Kyiv
Solo Drama – I’m Ruth
Miniseries – State of Mind
International – Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Features – Joe Lycett vs Beckham: Returned to tour at Christmas
Drama Series – Mean Sisters
Fact Series: Libby, are you home yet?
Unique Documentary – The Real Mo Farah
Comedy entertainment show – Friday Night Live
Soap and Continuing Drama – Accidents
Live Event – Platinum Jubilee – Party at the Palace
Entertainment Show – Claudia Winkleman – The Traitors
Special Awards – David Olusoga
P&O Cruises Memorable Moment – Platinum Jubilee – Party at Paddington Palace Meet the Queen
Supporting Actor – Adeel Akhtar – Sherwood
Lead Actor – Ben Whishaw – This Is Gonna Hurt
Lead Actress – Kate Winslet – I’m Ruth
Scripted Comedy – Derry Girls
Special Award – David Olusoga
Scholarship – Meera Syal