This weekend, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, or BAFTA, gave out its film awards. It’s the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars.
Like the Oscars, the BAFTAs include an “In Memoriam” segment. This year’s “In Memoriam” left out Diana Rigg (1938-2020). Variety, which was covering the awards inquired why. Here’s a tweet the entertainment news outlet put out:
Rigg was known for both movies and TV shows. For spy fans, she played Tracy, James Bond’s ill-fated wife in the 1969 film adaptation of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. On TV, she was known for The Avengers and other television series.
UPDATE (April 12): Viewers advise that Bond film veterans Honor Blackman and Earl Cameron also didn’t make the “In Memoriam” segment. THIS STORY says Prince Philip, who died last week, was included.
UPDATE II: Reader @toysofbond advises Honor Blackman was included in the 2020 BAFTA TV “In Memoriam.” So she, lie Dame Diana, was deemed a TV performer rather than a movie one. See tweet below:
Filed under: James Bond Films, The Other Spies | Tagged: BAFTA, Diana Rigg, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Oscars, the Avengers |
The Spy Command 
I think “better known” is not unfair. OHMSS is my favorite Bond movie, and I’m a huge fan of her films The Hospital, Theatre of Blood & A Little Night Music. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a TV movie in the US, but theatrical everywhere else on the planet. But on TV, you have to add Game of Thrones to The Avengers, even though I was never a fan of GoT. And she was the host of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS in the US for many years. When you take all of that into account, and also that she did more TV films, like Hedda Gabler & Witness for the Prosecution, than theatrical films, I think BAFTA’s judgement is correct. Assuming they couldn’t fete her for both, which would have been nice.
Two thoughts:
— The “T” in BAFTA stands for “television.”
–How much time would it have taken to include Diana Rigg in the “In Memoriam” segment? Five seconds? Ten?
[…] segment. Rigg was a versatile actress who appeared in films, television and the stage. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s BAFTA left Rigg out from the “In Memoriam” segment of its movie show. […]