Kate Winslet uses BAFTA winning speech to address the dark side of social media: We want our children back
Kate Winslet with daughter Mia Threapleton at BAFTA TV awards 2023
It was a special night for Kate Winslet at the BAFTA TV Awards as she won the Best Actress award for her performance inTV series I Am Ruth. Winslet has won three BAFTA Film Awards during a stellar career but this is her first TV win. The night was special for Winslet as she picked up the award in the presence of her daughter, Mia Threapleton, who co-starred with her in the new series.
Winslet beat off competition in the category from I Hate Suzie Too’s Billie Piper, Imelda Staunton’s Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, Maxine Peake (Anne), Vicky McClure (Without Sin) and Happy Valley lead Sarah Lancashire.
I Am Ruth also won Best Single Drama on Sunday night. The show explores a relationship between a mother and teenage daughter experiencing severe mental health issues in the age of social media. Winslet and Mia co-star in the show together.
The mother-daughter appeared visibly emotional as Winslet won the award. She used her acceptance speech to call for “the people in power to criminalise harmful content.”
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“We don’t want it and we want our children back,” she said. “We don’t want to lie awake terrified for our children’s mental health. To any young people who are listening, please ask for help, there is no shame in admitting you need support, just ask for it.”
Winslet also had a word of appreciation for her daughter Mia Threapleton who played her daughter in the show and said she wished she could “cut the award in half and give it to her.”
“We did this together, kiddo,” she added. “There were days when it was agony for [Mia] to dig as deeply as she did into this frightening, emotional territory.”
Winslet also paid tribute to I Am Ruth creator Dominic Savage for creating “the space to tell women’s stories.” His other I Am… shows have featured the likes of Letitia Wright, Suranne Jones and Gemma Chan.
“This means a great deal as it means small British TV dramas can still be weighty,” added Winslet.The BAFTA TV Awards took place through the late afternoon of Sunday at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
