New owner at The Circ retro bar in Burnley Graham Slade joins Sarah Lancashire and Ant and Dec on red carpet at the BAFTAs

Graham Slade, who has recently taken over at The Circ retro bar in Burnley, and his wife Donna, were treated to a champagne reception and some of the best seats in the house for the prestigious event that honours the best in British film and television.

Hosted by award-winning comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, the Slades were among several members of the public who won a place at the event in a competition run by the sponsors P & O Cruises. Graham said: “It was fantastic and something that we will never forget. To see so many famous people up close in a normal setting was quite an experience. We weren’t allowed to speak to them but it was great to watch them all arrive and acknowledge everyone who was there.”

Held at the Royal Festival Hall in London Graham and Donna got chatting to a couple who they later discovered were also from Burnley and regularly like a pre-match drink in the Circ bar before going to watch the Clarets!

The final seasons of ‘Top Boy’ and ‘Happy Valley’ were among the big winners. Top Boy, which first aired on Channel 4 but was revived by Netflix, won the prestigious best drama award. It held off competition from ‘Happy Valley,’ but the BBC drama won best actress for Sarah Lancashire as well as the memorable moment prize. There were also special awards for daytime TV star Lorraine Kelly and Baroness Floella Benjamin.

Hollywood legend Jeff Goldblum attended to hand out an award and there was a host of stars there including Amit Shah, Anne Reid, Ant & Dec, Brian Cox, Clare Balding, Claudia Winkleman, David Tennant, David Morrissey, Dominic West, Siobhan Finneran, Tess Daly and Timothy Spall.