Olivier

The Olivier Awards are back on the BBC and fans were bowled over with host Nick Mohammed also praised for his flawless delivery at the Royal Albert Hall tonight

Viewers were quick to slam ITV’s coverage of the Olivier Awards, which made its long-awaited return to the BBC tonight.

Fans were left impressed by its return after years away with the live broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall tonight. The great and the good from theatre and stage were there, as well as plenty of other big names, as the winners were announced in London.

The star-studded ceremony was back on the BBC for the first time in 23 years, and those tuning in are happy at the switch. Highlights from the glitzy bash included performances from this year’s nominees, including Paddington The Musical, Into the Woods, and Evita.

Viewers were also treated to spectacular celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Phantom of the Opera and the 20th anniversary of Wicked. Minutes into the show, fans flocked to X to share their delight that the Olivier Awards were back “where they should be”.

“Thank goodness we got a decent Olivier Awards show back on BBC at a decent time rather than the throw away coverage on ITV previously. Really enjoyed that,” one put, as another said: “The BBC really know how to do it right, don’t they. Can’t stop watching the Olivier Awards tonight!”

An impressed third person said: “Currently watching the Olivier Awards 2026 on BBC Two right now. Great acceptance award speeches about making sure that there are still charities to fund talented and new individuals through the acting door, in particular, the next generation.”

Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Arlene Phillips will all be on hand to dish out the awards, with Ted Lasso and Celebrity Traitors star Nick Mohammed on hosting duties at the iconic venue.

The was plenty of praise for him online and one said: “Nick Mohammed is just wonderful as the olivier awards host” with someone else agreeing and they wrote: “Can Nick Mohammed host every award show for all eternity. He’s very good isn’t he? #olivierawards“.

The Queen sent her congratulations to Dame Elaine Paige on receiving this year’s Special Award and the royal said: “You have, quite simply, brought huge joy to untold numbers of people across the globe and we are in your debt.”

Paddington was the big winner on the night, with West End revivals of Evita and Into The Woods also winning plaudits. The smash-hit musical – which is adapted from the books by Michael Bond and the hit films – won in seven categories from 11 nominations including best new musical, best actor in a musical and best actor and actress in a supporting role.

It follows the adventures of the marmalade-loving bear from Peru, starring a life-like puppet of Paddington, and also picked up the prize for best costume design, best set design and the Sir Peter Hall award for best director. Paddington, currently on at the Savoy Theatre in London, features music written by McFly star Tom Fletcher and its book was written by playwright Jessica Swale.

Winners in full:

Best actor

Jack Holden for Kenrex at The Other Palace

Best actress

Rosamund Pike for Inter Alia at the National Theatre

Best actor in a musical

James Hameed and Arti Shah for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best actress in a musical

Rachel Zegler for Evita at The London Palladium

Best actor in a supporting role

Paapa Essiedu for All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best actress in a supporting role

Julie Hesmondhalgh for Punch at the Young Vic and the Apollo Theatre

Best actress in a supporting role in a musical

Victoria Hamilton-Barritt for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best actor in a supporting role in a musical

Tom Edden for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best new play

Punch by James Graham at the Young Vic and the Apollo Theatre

Best new musical

Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre

Best revival

All My Sons by Arthur Miller at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best musical revival

Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre

Best costume design

Gabriella Slade and Tahra Zafar for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best sound design

Giles Thomas for Kenrex at The Other Palace

Noel Coward award for best new entertainment or comedy play

Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola at Trafalgar Theatre

Best family show

The Boy At The Back Of The Class adapted by Nick Ahad at Rose Theatre

Gillian Lynne Award for best theatre choreographer

Fabian Aloise for Evita at The London Palladium

Best set design

Tom Pye and Ash J Woodward for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Sir Peter Hall Award for best director

Luke Sheppard for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best lighting design

Aideen Malone and Roland Horvath for Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre

Outstanding musical contribution

Chris Fenwick and Sean Hayes for Good Night, Oscar at Barbican Theatre

Best new production in affiliate theatre

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams at The Yard Theatre

Best new dance production

Into The Hairy by Sharon Eyal for S-E-D at Sadler’s Wells

Best new opera production

Dead Man Walking by English National Opera at London Coliseum

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A BOYBAND singer songwriter has turned heads on the Olivier Awards green carpet with striking new facial fuzz.

The former Strictly star showcased the suave new look at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday night.

Musician Tom Fletcher looked worlds away from his old self as he joined his wife, Giovanna Fletcher, to celebrate his stage show Paddington winning multiple awards.

The 40-year-old sported a smart blue velvet blazer with a white shirt and black bow tie.

Posing alongside him, Giovanna, 41, looked equally glam in a strapless navy floor-length gown with diamond earrings and a black clutch.

The couple appeared at the 50th anniversary of the star-studded event hosted by comedian and The Traitors favourite Nick Mohammed.

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The McFly musician composed the score for the award-winning West End hit Paddington The Musical.

The show won awards for Best Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical, Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, Best Actor in a Musical and Best New Musical.

Adapted from Michael Bond’s beloved book series and the successful film franchise, the production is currently running at London’s Savoy Theatre.

Mum-of-three Giovanna recently revealed she suffered a second devastating miscarriage in 2025 after a “surprise” pregnancy.

The podcaster and author, who has been married to McFly star Tom since 2012 – share three sons – Buzz, Buddy and Max.

To mark the 300th episode of her podcast Happy Mum Happy Baby in February, Giovanna was interviewed by her best pal, Emma Willis.

The author said she doesn’t believe parents should have to wait until the 12-week mark to tell people as it means they can’t necessarily be there if a miscarriage happens before that time. 

The former I’m A Celebrity winner revealed she had rearranged the year ahead as she prepared to welcome the baby into the family and was looking forward to having a reason to slow down.  

Back in 2017, Giovanna opened up about suffering a heartbreaking miscarriage with her first baby before going on to welcome son Buzz.

Prior to parenting and stage success, former The Voice judge Tom was one of the original members of Busted but soon got shown the door.

The budding star auditioned for the group alongside Charlie Simpson but fate formed its own version of pop history.

Musician Tom was gutted to learn the record label had changed their mind and only wanted a trio.

In 2003, Tom joined musical forces with Danny Jones and McFly was born – named after Back to the Future‘s Marty McFly.

He has written 10 UK number-one singles and 21 top-ten singles and is credited as having written songs for One Direction, Busted, The Vamps and 5 Seconds of Summer.

The It’s All About You singers became the youngest band to have an album reach the top of the charts.

The Olivier Awards returned to the BBC for the first time in 23 years on Sunday to celebrate the very best of London’s world-class theatre at Royal Albert Hall

The Olivier Awards has returned in spectacular fashion for its 50th anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall.

The finest of London’s world-renowned theatre productions were honoured during Sunday’s (April 12) ceremony.

The glittering ceremony returned to the BBC for the first time in 23 years on BBC Two, while Jo Whiley entertained radio audiences with backstage conversations featuring the stunning line-up on BBC Radio 2.

Standout moments from the magnificent evening of theatre included performances by this year’s nominees, including Paddington The Musical, Into the Woods, and Evita.

Audiences were also treated to breathtaking celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Phantom of the Opera and the 20th anniversary of Wicked.

Within minutes of the programme beginning, fans rushed to X (formerly Twitter) to express their excitement that the prestigious award ceremony was returning to the broadcaster online.

One viewer wrote: “Currently watching the Olivier Awards 2026 on BBC Two right now. Great acceptance award speeches about making sure that there are still charities to fund talented and new individuals through the acting door, in particular, the next generation.”

Another enthused: “Olivier Awards on the BBC starting strong. Performance of Phantom of the Opera, then calling in Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Helen Mirren to present the first award for Best Revival, which goes to All My Sons.” A third contributed: “The BBC really know how to do it right, don’t they. Can’t stop watching the Olivier Awards tonight!”

Dominating the evening with an impressive seven victories was heavyweight Paddington: The Musical, securing Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor/Actress in a Musical.

Evita also enjoyed major success, with Rachel Zegler taking home Best Actress in a Musical alongside the prize for Best Theatre Choreographer.

Kenrex also triumphed with Best Actor for Jack Holden and Best Sound Design, while Punch collected Best New Play and Best Actress in a Supporting role for Julie Hesmondhalgh. Additionally, Into The Woods had plenty to celebrate after securing Best Musical Revival and Best Lighting Design, reports the Express.

Meanwhile, All My Sons claimed Best Supporting Actor for Paapa Essiedu and Best Revival, while actress Rosamund Pike also secured Best Actress for Inter Alia. Elsewhere, Dame Elaine Paige received this year’s Special Award in recognition of her contribution to musical theatre.

Some of the entertainment industry’s biggest names attended the prestigious ceremony to present the coveted awards, including Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Helen Mirren, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Strictly star Johannes Radebe and Eurovision star Sam Ryder, amongst others.

The Olivier Awards can be streamed on BBC iPlayer