Bafta bosses put ‘ring of steel’ around Sunday’s ceremony after YouTube prankster stormed the stage in 2024
WITH huge names including Ariana Grande, Orlando Bloom, Demi Moore and Timothee Chalamet preparing to descend on the EE Film Baftas tomorrow afternoon, organisers are taking no risks when it comes to security.
Last year a YouTube prankster, who is so inconsequential it’s not worth naming them, managed to get up on stage alongside Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy as they collected the Best Picture award for Oppenheimer.
Insiders tell me the embarrassing stunt won’t be repeated this year, after Bafta bosses put a ring of steel around the ceremony at London’s Festival Hall, with extra security guards and checks for all the guests, including VIPs.
“The Baftas are taking no risks after last year and security at tomorrow’s event has never been tighter,” my insider said.
“Everyone going in and out of Festival Hall will be checked and there are more security guards on call.
“It’ll basically be the safest place to be in London because of the amount of eyes on it.
“Security is upped by the stage too and with all the checks, no one who isn’t officially invited won’t be getting in. They are taking no chances.”
Following the daft episode in 2024, Bafta said: “A social media prankster was removed by security last night after joining the winners of the final award on stage.
“We are taking this very seriously, and don’t wish to grant him any publicity by commenting further.”
It’s one of my favourite nights in the showbiz calendar and last year I spent the evening rubbing shoulders with celebrities including Ryan Reynolds, David Beckham and Paul Mescal.
This year’s guest list is even more star-studded than normal and I can’t wait to bring you all the gossip from the night on Monday, with an after-party special on Tuesday.
Once I’ve shaken off my hangover, of course.
Ed’s fresh start as a Play boy
ED SHEERAN is gearing up to release a new album and begin his next chapter.
We might not have long for the record, called Play.
He is expected to follow Play with the release of Pause, Rewind, Forward and Stop – which are all tattoos he has.
Ed has changed his profile photo on social media to mark the beginning of his next era, and promised a fan the first album is coming “soon”.
Ed is on the penultimate leg of his +–=÷× World Tour and will have a break in March and April to promote the record, or wait until it ends in September.
I’m hoping the music comes sooner, rather than later.
Harriet chills as host
TELLY host Harriet Rose may have just landed a cool gig as a host of ITV’s Brits pre-party show – but she’s happier that she can now afford a fancy fridge.
In an exclusive chat with Bizarre, she said: “I feel really lucky. I’ve experienced loads of love from what I’ve been doing and I was able to buy myself a new fridge so life is good.
“Honestly for my whole life I’ve wanted a posh fridge. It has an ice dispenser. I’m living the dream. If I was to achieve anything this year I’d love to do a bit of acting.
“I went to uni and studied acting so I could be the next someone really good at acting . . . Toni Collette.”
Harriet, who has been confirmed as co-host of The BRITs 2025: The Warm-Up with Munya Chawawa on ITV2 on February 27, also presents The Masked Singer spin-off show The After Mask.
And she admitted she sympathised with Macy Gray after the soul star stormed off in a strop after being voted off last month.
Harriet, below, said: “It’s such a fun show to do I’m not surprised she was gutted. She’s a legend and it was one of those moments I went, ‘Yeah I get it’.”
She was speaking while being recognised at the annual Attitude 101 event, sponsored by Bentley, which celebrates LGBTQ+ industry leaders.
She was there, but etiquette expert William Hanson who was also featured on the list, was called out by Attitude owner Darren Styles because he “ironically did not reply to his invitation.”
Singer Olly Alexander was honoured at the event but pulled out of doing a speech and refused to speak to journalists after his new album Polari went into the charts at No17 yesterday.
Awkward.
Retro Sam takes the Mick
SAM FOX headed back to the Eighties as she puffed on a cig while filming a sketch for The Brit Awards.
The singer and former Page Three girl recreated her pink hair from the infamous 1989 ceremony, when she hosted with Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood.
Sam was joined by a Mick lookalike on a London street in the capital as she worked on the skit.
It will involve this year’s host Jack Whitehall, with Sam and replica Mick pretending to be in the Squid Games as they mock their presenting debacle.
She and Mick went down in history for all the wrong reasons, as guests missed their cues, lines were fluffed and a pre-recorded speech from Michael Jackson was missed altogether.
Lady Shady Gaga
LADY GAGA channelled her inner Neo from The Matrix in these sunglasses after finishing rehearsals for Saturday Night Live in New York.
The US singer, whose new single Abracadabra is at No3, performed alongside guests including Jack White and Miley Cyrus last night for the TV comedy show’s 50th birthday.
Before the performance, Gaga appeared on YouTube talk show Hot Ones.
She revealed that she considered quitting her music career, adding: “There were definitely times where I felt like maybe I should walk away.”
Gaga, who will release her album Mayhem on March 7, also looked back on the hard graft it took to make it.
She said: “I would knock on door after door and say, ‘Can I please play here?’ Or I would call and pretend I was my manager. I would tell people, ‘She’s so hot right now’.”
JAMES BAY won the Brits Rising Star award a decade ago and has befriended this year’s winner, Myles Smith.
He welcomed Myles on stage at his Wembley Arena show on Thursday to sing Let It Go.
Myles will be back on stage a fortnight today when he performs at the Brit Awards.
He’s already had hits Stargazing and Nice To Meet You, and I see a career as bright as James’.
SELENA GOMEZ has announced a new album with fiancé Benny Blanco.
I Said I Love You First will be out on March 1.
As we revealed earlier this week, Selena has now released the lead single, Scared Of Loving You, which is the first song off the collaboration record.
A rep for the couple said: “The album chronicles their entire story – before they met, falling in love and looking to what the future holds.”
It sounds soppy – and not for people like me, whose boyfriends forgot Valentine’s Day.
Love you Lotts
FAME and romance don’t often go hand in hand. But this lot want you to know just how loved-up they are.
David Beckham shared this cute throwback snap of himself and Posh, while Love Islander Jack Fincham‘s girlfriend, ex-Towie star Chloe Brockett, pouted for England in this cosy selfie.
Helen Flanagan shared a shot of her and boyfriend Robbie Talbot posing on a winter’s walk.
Towie’s Gemma Collins shared a throwback snap of her and fiancé Rami Hawash.
Meanwhile, Pixie Lott, who is married to model Oliver Cheshire, gave a surprise performance at Coventry Cathedral during a Valentine’s Day event, where 80 couples renewed their commitment to each other.
Sabrina’s swipe at ex Barry
SABRINA CARPENTER has made her thoughts on ex-fella Barry Keoghan perfectly clear – by killing him off in her new video.
They split in December after almost a year, with the Oscar-nominated actor having appeared in the video to her No1 Please Please Please.
But she released a new version yesterday featuring Dolly Parton, and is seen with a man’s body dressed the same way Barry was in the original clip.
The remixed track is on the deluxe copy of album Short N’ Sweet, and sits alongside a handful of new songs.
Hinting at their split on Busy Woman, Sabrina sings: “I’m so mature, collected, and sensible, except when I get hit with rejection.
“To turn me down, well, that’s just unethical. I’ll turn into someone you’re scared to know.”
On 15 Minutes, she jokes about getting with as many men as possible during her time in the limelight.
She sings: “I can do a lot with 15 minutes – lot of pretty boys, lot of funny business. Take a couple bucks, turn ’em into millions. You, you, you know I can do a lot with 15 minutes.”
And she adds: “Only gonna take two to make you finish.
“P**s some people off, show ’em what they’re missin’.”
Don’t mess with her.