Thirty-three-year-old Coel picked up two coveted awards at this year’s BAFTAs – the lead actress nod as well as the gong for best mini-series for her show ‘I May Destroy You'’. The drama series was created, written, co-directed, and executive produced by Coel for BBC One and HBO. The series is set in London with a predominantly Black British cast and stars Coel as Arabella, a young woman who seeks to rebuild her life after being raped.
Coel chose to dedicate her leading actress trophy, to the show’s intimacy coordinator Ita O'Brien, thanking her for her work and "making the space safe... so we can make work about exploitation, loss of respect, abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process".
Michaela Coel is best known for creating and starring in the sitcom Chewing Gum for which she won a BAFTA for best female comedy performance in 2016. Netflix viewers will also know her from her guest appearances in Black Mirror and her appearances as Kate Ashby in the series Black Earth Rising and as Simone in the film Been So Long.
The socially distanced ceremony took place at Television Centre in west London.
For the full list of winners, you can go to https://www.bafta.org/television/awards/tv-2021#michaela-coel---leading-actress
Watch her powerful acceptance speech about intimacy upon receiving the leading actress BAFTA.
