Paddington to join BAFTA Film Awards line-up

Paddington Bear, the star of new West End show Paddington The Musical, is making a special guest appearance at this Sunday’s BAFTA Film Awards.

The bear from Peru is presenting the best children’s and family film award at this year’s event.

The BAFTA Film Awards are taking place this Sunday, 22 February 2026, at London’s Royal Festival Hall, hosted by Alan Cumming.

The awards are also broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Other presenters cued up for this year’s awards include West End stars Aaron Pierre (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Bryan Cranston (All My Sons), and Noah Jupe (Hamnet) and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) – the stars of Robert Icke’s new production of Romeo and Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.

Other presenters include Aimee Lou Wood, Alia Bhatt, Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Erin Doherty, Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Hannah Waddingham, Kerry Washington, Little Simz, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Milly Alcock, Minnie Driver, Regé-Jean Page, Riz Ahmed, Stellan Skargård, Stormzy and Warwick Davis.

The lavish BAFTA show will also see a performance of “Golden” from Kpop Demon Hunters, sung by Jae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami – the first time the song has been performed outside of the US.

Also Jessie Ware will cover one of Barbra Streisand’s songs during the In Memoriam section.

BAFTA nominations

The BAFTA Film Awards nominations were announced last month.

Top films in the nominations included Hamnet, which scored 11 nominations including Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson and Chloé Zhao.

46 films have received nominations this year, with One Battle After Another starring Leonardo DiCaprio scoring the most nominations with 14.

Paddington The Musical (Savoy Theatre London). Photo by Johan Persson

Paddington The Musical in London. Photo by Johan Persson

More about Paddington The Musical

Earlier this month Paddington The Musical celebrated its 100th performance in the West End, having opened at the Savoy Theatre in London in December.

The show has also been nominated for a number of awards at this year’s Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.

Paddington’s score is written by McFly’s Tom Fletcher, with a book by Olivier Award-winner Jessica Swale (Nell Gwynn). The show is directed by Luke Sheppard (Starlight Express).

The new musical was showered with five-star reviews when it opened – read a reviews round-up for Paddington.

Paddington is played by James Hameed as the Off-stage Performer and Remote Puppeteer, and Arti Shah as the On-stage Performer. The Alternate Paddington On-stage Performers are Abbie Purvis and Ali Sarebani.

Paddington is booking at the Savoy Theatre in London to 14 February 2027.

Paddington performance information

Venue: The Savoy Theatre, Strand, London
Booking until: 14 February 2027
Performance days: Monday, Wednesday to Saturday evenings; and Thursday, Saturday & Sunday matinees
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes (including interval)
Age advice: Recommended for ages 6+
Paddington ticket advice: Best standard tickets available from September 2026; Premium VIP seats now available
View live availability for Paddington The Musical tickets >