Graham Norton divided Bafta viewers with a biting opening monologue that took aim at the diversity controversy surrounding the awards.

There has been disappointment that no female directors were recognised for the seventh year in a row at the film awards, and that the actors nominated for gongs were all white.

READ MORE: ​All the winners at the Bafta film awards 

Delivering his speech at the show on Sunday, Norton referred to the issue of “white male privilege” and had a pop at the film Joker, which led with 11 nominations. 

Sunday night’s awards attracted three million viewers on BBC One, falling by half a million from last year.

READ MORE: Baftas 2020: Who were the winners and losers

The awards were attended by A-list stars such as Renee Zellweger,  John Boyega, Florence Pugh, Robert De Niro, Scarlett Johansson, Naomie Harris and Margot Robbie.

But the ceremony, hosted by Graham Norton, had an average audience of three million and a peak of 3.5 million.