David Olusoga to Receive BAFTA Special Award

Presenter, broadcaster, filmmaker, author, historian and professor David Olusoga OBE will be presented with a BAFTA Special Award for his contribution to television at the BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises.

The BAFTA Television Awards will pay tribute to Olusoga’s ongoing legacy and impact on the television industry and society, for widening perspectives of how history is presented and expanding the diversity of stories told.

Olusoga’s credits include presenting the long-running BBC history series A House Through Time (BBC Two), writing and presenting the award-winning series Black & British: A Forgotten History (BBC Two) and the BAFTA-winning Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners. Among his other credits are The World’s War (BBC Two) and The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files, Extra Life, a Short History of Living Longer and the landmark BBC arts series Civilizations.

He is a Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. In recent years, he led major interviews with former President of the United States Barack Obama and lectures such as the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart Lecture in 2020.

Olusoga said: “I am honored to be the recipient of the BAFTA Special Award 2023. It is humbling to have my work in television, as both a producer and a presenter, recognized in this way.”

Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA, said: “We are honored to present David Olusoga the BAFTA Special Award at our forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises. David Olusoga has made an outstanding contribution, not just to the television community but to our society and culture. His commitment and bravery in reappraising how history is presented through television is inspiring. He represents the best of what television can do—its power to inspire, educate and challenge. David has made our industry and society a better place, and this BAFTA Special Award couldn’t be more deserved.”