Stephen Graham praised for ‘powerful’ speech following his BAFTA win

Fans have praised Stephen Graham for his ‘powerful’ speech after prison drama Time picked up up the TV Bafta for Best Mini-Series.

The three-part BBC series saw Graham take on the role of prison officer Eric McNally, while Game of Thrones star Sean Bean portrayed Mark Cobden, a teacher, husband and father attempting to navigate and survive life behind bars.

Yet while the show was met with wide-spread praise, the cast were visibly shocked when it was announced as the winner, with Graham later confirming in his speech that he was not expecting the win.

Taking to the stage with his fellow cast members, Graham said: “I swear on my ma’s life, we really weren’t expecting this.”

He went on to praise the ‘phenomenal cast of young working class men’ who were ‘absolutely outstanding’, saying: “It was an absolute joy to be a part of.

“I just want to say, this is the reason that I wanted to be an actor as a kid, to tell stories which had a social commentary.”

In a nod to the other nominated series, which included Channel 4’s It’s A Sin and Landscapers, Graham added: “I just want to say, this isn’t a game of footy, so there shouldn’t be a winner or a loser.

“We’re all winners because we’re all doing exactly what we want to do.”

He then quipped: “I was just want to say as well, it was an absolute honour to get to act with my wife!”

Despite the cast’s own shock, fans were delighted to see the series win at the awards evening, with many praising Graham not only for his performance, but for his ‘brilliant’ speech. 

One Twitter user wrote: “Just when you can’t love this man anymore @StephenGraham73 he makes a speech like that. So happy for #Time it was brilliant”.

Another commented: “Finally Stephen Graham the UK’s best actor wins a Bafta…”. 

Time is available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.