Beckinsale hit back at organisers over the “cold email”, saying: “So a man dead less than a week somehow has to audition in front of a committee after a decades-long career in which he has been awarded from said organisation … to decide if his death is worth mentioning.
“If his work, his life, his craft, his mentoring, his heart and soul are worthy of a mention that he is gone.”
Hailing his “incredible work” on Leeds United!, Tomorrow’s World and Roll On Four O’Clock, she added: “That has broken my heart all over again. I am paralysed, sick and sickened and I will honour him and his work every day of my life.”
The actress added that her mother had been “gracefully and quietly dealing with stage four cancer for the last six years and just lost her husband,” adding: “So thanks again, Bafta for your horribly cold email.”
In response, a Bafta spokesman called Battersby “a renowned and trailblazing director”, and said the awards show was “sorry to hear” of his death earlier this month.
The statement added: “We confirm he will be honoured in our forthcoming Bafta television awards in May, and on the In Memoriam section on our website.”
The Baftas In Memory Of was created in 2006 to acknowledge and pay tribute to “committed and passionate individuals who worked in the film, games and TV industries who have passed away”, according to their website.
However, it also warns that the awards “are unable to provide a definitive list of every person with industry credits who has passed away” annually because of the high number of deaths every year.
Battersby, who married Beckinsale’s mother Judy Loe in 1997, “passed away peacefully” on Jan 10 after a “brief period of illness”, according to a family statement.
Beckinsale rushed from the Golden Globes ceremony to hospital to be by her stepfather’s side, sharing photos of herself on the red carpet and in hospital in the same gown she wore to the awards, with the caption: “Golden Globes 2024 start to end.”
Later, she shared a series of images alongside the caption: “I have no words yet … I fought for you with everything I had. Oh Roy I am so sorry I lost.”
Sarah Wilson is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
