‘Trip to Italy’ Star Rob Brydon to Host BAFTA LA’s Britannias on October 30, BAFTA Awards Timetable

Are you a fan of “The Trip” or “The Trip to Italy?” Welsh comedian Rob Brydon costars in these Michael Winterbottom road trip comedies with Steve Coogan, and both are hilarious. There’s something authentic and yet well-performed about the setup–two old actor friends go along on a food trip, competing for the attention of various tablemates and women and each other. Sometimes they annoy each other–and us–but more often they amuse. 

Brydon did so well last year hosting the annual BAFTA LA’s Britannia awards–which are well attended by various awards contenders every fall–that the BAFTAs are bringing him back for a second time around. This year’s pre-Halloween ceremony will be on October 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and broadcast by BBC America on November 2. Last year’s show honorees were Kathryn Bigelow, George Clooney, Sacha Baron Cohen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Idris Elba, Sir Ben Kingsley, along with presenters Shohreh Aghdashloo, Judd Apatow, Jennifer Ehle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alice Eve, Ralph Fiennes, Sean Penn, Julia Roberts, and Sigourney Weaver. (Highlights are available on BBC AMERICA’s YouTube channel.)

Brydon studied at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama before joining BBC Wales as a radio and television presenter.  He made his name in 2000 with television shows “Marion and Geoff” and “Human Remains,” winning British Comedy Awards for both. Since then his credits include ”I’m Alan Partridge,” “Little Britain,” “Live at the Apollo,” “Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive,” “QI,” “Have I Got News For You,” “Rob Brydon’s Identity Crisis,” “Would I Lie To You?” and BBC AMERICA series “Gavin and Stacey.” In 2009, he took his Rob Brydon Live stand up show on tour, including a run in London’s West End. Rob returned to the stage in the Autumn of 2011 alongside Kenneth Branagh in “The Painkiller” at The Lyric in Belfast. In the Autumn of 2012, Rob made his West End acting debut in Alan Ayckbourn’s “A Chorus of Disapproval” directed by Sir Trevor Nunn. 

In related news, here’s the timetable for the latest EE British Academy Film Awards that take place on Sunday February 8 at The Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden and will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK. Big changes from last year include six nominations for the Outstanding British Film category. As with previous years, BAFTA Members of the relevant opt-in chapter will vote for the top 15 films and the top three will be automatically nominated. The chapter is made up of a minimum of 80 voters. The final three nominations will be chosen by a jury from the remaining 12 films.