Martin Lewis fought back tears as he accepted a BAFTA Special Award at the 2026 TV BAFTA Awards, held at London's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 10 May. The Money Saving Expert founder was presented with the honour by Richard Osman during the BBC broadcast.
Lewis began his speech with a joke, saying: “Yes, a BAFTA, mainly for an ITV show that’s just a PowerPoint presentation with a Q&A afterwards.” He then argued that television “doesn’t have to be format driven”, adding: “People will embrace something actionable, something real, something that helps, and they will even embrace complexity if we make it worth it.”
As he continued, Lewis became emotional, recalling that he had read about the award on Thursday. “42 years to the day that we suddenly lost my mum just before I was 12,” he said, pausing to compose himself. “My childhood was over. For six years, barring school, I barely left the house. And now I’m picking up a BAFTA.”
He dedicated the award to consumer journalism, “where I found the fire”, and offered a message to those struggling: “Life can be transformed. It can get better. And if you’d told that broken, scared boy that I’d proudly be a campaigning journalist, his jaw would have dropped.” He concluded: “And now with tears in my eyes, sadly, it’s time for this nerd to party.”
The ceremony, hosted by comedian Greg Davies, saw early wins for the cast of Adolescence, which won Best Limited Drama. Owen Cooper took Best Supporting Actor, and Christine Tremarco won Best Supporting Actress. The Celebrity Traitors won Best Reality Award, while Last One Laughing won Best Entertainment Show.
