At the 79th edition of the BAFTA Film Awards held this Sunday at the Royal Festival Hall in London, one of the most commented moments of the night was not an actor or an actress, but Paddington Bear, the endearing British bear who went on stage to present the award for Best Children's and Family Film.
Visibly nervous but adorable, Paddington, wearing his characteristic blue coat and red hat, with Prince William and Kate Middleton pointed out at their entrance among the spectators by the camera, joked about how complicated it was to handle an envelope with his big paws and assured that he was “the first bear to present a BAFTA award”, even humorously confessing that he ended up staining the statuette with marmalade, his favorite companion always.
Paddington Bear presents the BAFTA for Children & Family's Film✨ #EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/Cnes35v6xm
— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 22, 2026
The award in that category went to the Indian film Boong, which beat competitors such as Zootropolis 2 and Lilo & Stitch, although Zootropolis 2 took home the award for Best Animated Film.
The gala, in which the great winner was Una batalla tras otra with up to 6 statuettes and the Spanish film Sirat, directed by Oliver Laxe, went without an award, will also go down in history for the tender and viral moment starring the bear that stole all eyes.
A moment that demonstrates that, even on a night full of serious cinema and big names, Paddington's tenderness managed to conquer the public and become one of the iconic, most viral and commented images of the BAFTA 2026.