Kate Winslet Delivers a Tearful Acceptance Speech as She Wins BAFTA for “I Am Ruth”
May 14 turned out to be a special night for Kate Winslet as she was lauded at the 2023 British Academy Television Awards for her performance in the TV show “I Am Ruth.” The Titanic star added another award to her collection when she accepted the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress.
I Am Ruth is a heartwrenching drama about a mother’s concerns for her teenage daughter as she is consumed by social media pressures and the ensuing mental health crisis she undergoes.
The 47-year-old actress was overcome with emotion and burst into tears of joy when she was announced as the winner. She shared a tearful hug with her 22-year-old daughter and co-star Mia Threapleton.
Before beginning her acceptance speech, Kate joked that she’s “Guaranteed to be the only one of the night to cry.”
She unfolded her speech and said, “Thank you, thank you so much. This means a great deal because it really does mean that small British television dramas can still be mighty.”
Kate highlighted the pitfalls of social media in her speech: “I Am Ruth was made for parents and their children, for families who feel that they are held hostage by the perils of the online world, for parents who wish they could still communicate with their teenagers, but who no longer can.”
Kate thanked the director, Dominic Savage, for his delicate handling of a sensitive and painful story that is, unfortunately, far too common among women.
“It is not only powerful but brave and it is also important,” she continued. “We need this, we want to be heard. Thank you for giving us and creating this space for us to tell our stories.”
“To people in power, please criminalize harmful content, we don’t want it and we want our children back. We don’t want to lie awake terrified for our children’s mental health. To any young person listening, please ask for help, there is no shame in admitting you need support, just ask for it.”
Kate won her first BAFTA award in 1996 when she was only 20. She took home the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Marianne Dashwood in the movie Sense and Sensibility.
She has also won BAFTA Film Awards for The Reader in 2008 and Steve Jobs in 2016. Her “I Am Ruth” win, however, marks her first BAFTA TV Award.
Others nominated in this category include Billie Piper for “I Hate Suzie Too,” Imelda Staunton for “The Crown,” Maxine Peake for “Anne,” Vicky McClure for “Without Sin,” and Sarah Lancashire for “Happy Valley.”
Trying to keep the tears at bay, Kate still delivered a beautiful and moving speech and went on to acknowledge her daughter’s work in the show, saying, “If I could break it in half, I would give the other half to my daughter Mia Threapleton; we did this together, kiddo.”
“There were days when it was agony for her to dig as deeply as she did into very frightening emotional territory sometimes and it took my breath away,” she added.
Mia is Kate’s daughter from her ex-husband Jim Threapleton. This is the first time we’ve the mother-daughter duo work together onscreen.
“I Am Ruth” also won the BAFTA for Best Single Drama.
