Gracie Abrams and Paul Mescal Turn Heads on the 2026 BAFTA Red Carpet — What Fans Saw and Why It Matters
The presence of Gracie Abrams on the BAFTA red carpet shifted attention from awards talk to relationship moments that matter to fans and fashion watchers alike. For an audience that follows celebrity couples and award-season trajectories, the pairing offered both a personal snapshot — the couple’s low-key relationship highlighted — and a reminder that tonight’s ceremony mixes star power, performances and high-profile honors.
Gracie Abrams on the carpet: what fans noticed first
Gracie Abrams, 26, stood beside Paul Mescal, 30, in a moment widely shared in images from the event: she wore a black patterned dress and looked adoringly at her partner. The appearance continued a relationship that began in 2024 and has been largely kept out of the spotlight. Here’s the part that matters to followers: this was a public-facing moment that doubled as a fashion statement and a reminder of where Mescal’s public life and private life intersect.
Event details and red carpet pairings
The Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London provided the backdrop for the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, February 22. Paul Mescal cosied up to his two leading ladies on the red carpet, first with girlfriend Gracie Abrams and later posing with his Hamnet co-star Jessie Buckley. Jessie Buckley, 36, impressed in a bright blue velvet dress while Mescal and Buckley posed together for photos.
Who performed, who presented and which special honors landed
- Host: Alan Cumming.
- Performances: the night included the first performance outside the United States of the record-breaking track "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters, sung by JAE, AUDREYNUNA & REI AMI, the voices of HUNTR/X; British singer Jessie Ware performed a Barbara Streisand cover for the In Memoriam tribute.
- DJ and live reporting: a DJ set was scheduled from Neev Spencer, and Clara Amfo and Ali Plumb were on-site reporting live from outside the venue.
- Special awards: Dame Donna Langley was named this year’s BAFTA Fellowship recipient; Clare Binns, Creative Director of Picture House Cinemas, was set to receive the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award in recognition of her role championing diverse and fiercely independent work on UK big screens.
Names on the guest list and the couples moment
The ceremony’s invited roster included stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Jacob Elordi and Michael B. Jordan. A lengthy list of guest presenters and appearances included Aimee Lou Wood, Alicia Vikander, Cillian Murphy, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sadie Sink and British grime artist Stormzy. The Royal Festival Hall stage also welcomed Kerry Washington, Minnie Driver, Monica Bellucci, Patrick Dempsey and Regé-Jean Page.
Circling back to couples: Kate Hudson attended with her fiancé Danny Fujikawa and stunned in an off-the-shoulder crimson gown; Hudson was nominated for Best Leading Actress for her role in Song Sung Blue and wrote on Instagram last month that she was honored and described England as a real home, calling the nomination "a love letter back. " Other couples pictured included Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton, and Timothée Chalamet with Kylie Jenner. Developing: the provided context also noted that Prince William and Princess Kate put on a united front at the awards days after an arrest related to former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was mentioned in connection with alleged misconduct tied to Jeffrey Epstein — this detail is flagged as developing in the supplied material and is not corroborated elsewhere in that material.
What this means for Paul Mescal’s awards arc
Paul Mescal, who has a Supporting Actor BAFTA nod for the night, was described in the provided context as having been snubbed during Oscar nominations and will be hoping for an award at the BAFTAs. The real question now is whether tonight’s BAFTA outcome will alter the public narrative around his awards season — details may evolve as winners are announced.
What’s easy to miss is how the ceremony threaded big-name presenters and unusual performance choices — from K-pop acts performing internationally to a Streisand cover in the In Memoriam — into a single evening that doubled as both celebration and spectacle.
Who is most directly affected: fans of Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams, red-carpet photographers and fashion commentators, awards voters tracking Mescal’s trajectory, and cinema industry figures receiving special honors. For those groups, images from the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday will be replayed through social feeds, award recaps and industry conversations in the immediate hours after the ceremony.
Note: the assembled details above are drawn from the provided event coverage; some points are flagged as developing where the supplied material does not offer independent confirmation. Schedule and appearances were presented as part of the evening’s program and may be subject to change.
