The lucky agents watched Dianne Buswell collect the trophy for the P&O Cruises Memorable Moment award – on behalf of herself and comedian Chris McCausland for their performance to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” on Strictly Come Dancing – alongside a host of other TV stars winning the prestigious gongs.
Not Just Travel’s senior trade partnerships manager Neal Hussey told TTG: “It was a fantastic occasion and a huge privilege to attend the Baftas with P&O Cruises. On entry to the main auditorium for the ceremony I looked on side of me and there was comedian Lee Mack and on the other side of me was ‘National Geezer’ Danny Dyer.
“I remember wishing Danny all the best for the evenings awards, mentioned how I thought his podcast with his daughter Dani was brilliant and a real laugh, then grabbed a quick picture before he was chaperoned off. He was so down to earth, and the brief chat added to a great day!”
Stephen Brown, Hays Travel Independence Group business development manager, also attended, with colleague Kelly Green, assistant head of cruise at Hays Travel, and he said: “The TV Baftas were great; Kelly and I had a lot of fun. Most surreal moment would have to be [Channel 4 news presenter] Krishnan Guru-Murthy tapping my shoulder to offer to take a pic of Kelly and I – Kelly then returned the favour and took a picture of him and his partner.
“We did lots of star-spotting, which was fun – we bumped into Strictly professional Vito Coppola, and Strictly contestants Tasha Ghouri and JB Gill from JLS.
“But I was a little shy to ask for selfies,” he confessed.
“I was really happy that Jessica Gunning won Best Supporting Actress for Baby Reindeer – her performance in it was fantastic.”
Travel Village Group were out in force, with Jenny Higgins, head of marketing, Jess Clayton, content manager, Richard Cross, commercial manager and Lewis Johnston, e-commerce manager all there and dressed up for the occasion.
Jenny said: “If you were to tell me five years ago, as I analysed red carpet outfits during my fashion degree, that I too would be walking the red carpet, I’d have never believed you! I had lovely conversations with my favourite artist, Sophie Tea, and with JB from JLS – who I saw live a few years ago! With stars such as Mary Berry, Ruth Jones and David Tennant in attendance, it’s crazy to think that being involved in the travel industry can allow you to cross paths with so many icons. It’s a night I’ll never forget.”
For Lewis, his highlight was seeing the Gavin & Stacey cast: “It was such a surreal experience walking past crowds of fans and paparazzi! Amazing to see some TV royalty up close – my highlight was definitely Ruth Jones [winning female performance in a comedy role] … oh, and Danny Dyer’s moustache! I’m now officially the coolest dad in town after meeting some of [Youtube collective] Sidemen!”
While Jess added: “In the wonderful world of the travel industry we’re afforded some incredible opportunities; and walking the red carpet at the Baftas was certainly never something I imagined I’d get to do. I was delighted to mix with up-and-coming talent, plus meet some icons of my past – such as the one and only Chesney Hawkes!”
Celebrating its third year as headline sponsor, P&O Cruises invited travel agents from across the country to walk the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall and celebrate the impact of television in the UK and its power to entertain, inform and bring the nation together. Agents secured their spot at the awards ceremony through a number of ways, including Shine incentives, via P&O Cruises monthly Facebook live sessions or by attending the Clia conference in 2024.
P&O Cruises sales director Ruth Venn said: “Our partnership with Bafta TV Awards highlights the importance of entertainment in our everyday lives. We’re thrilled we can invite so many of our loyal travel agent partners to events such as these, creating memorable moments and recognising the continued support they give us all year round.”
