BAFTA Opens Ticket Review After Trustees' Free Guest Tickets Questioned

BAFTA has launched an independent review of its guest ticket arrangements after its elected membership council chair alleged that trustees may have breached UK charity law by accepting free plus-one tickets worth up to £2,000 ($2,665) each at the film awards — a custom he says ran for up to 20 years.

Michael Pritchett, an independent film producer who chairs BAFTA's membership council, raised the allegations at the Academy's annual general meeting this week. According to a transcription of his remarks seen by Deadline, he claimed trustees received complimentary tickets for themselves and a guest at BAFTA's film, television and games awards.

The stakes are legal, not ceremonial. Pritchett said he paid for legal advice at his own expense, which concluded: "Offenses under the Charities Act and the Companies Act are likely to have been committed by the trustees who approved those accounts." The accounts in question state that no trustees received any remuneration during the year for their services — accounts the same trustees approved.

What does the review actually cover?

Not the tickets themselves. BAFTA stopped offering plus-one tickets to trustees last year after a recommendation from its governance committee, and a board decision in 2025 discontinued the practice permanently. The new review, led by three unnamed industry executives, will examine only the historic guest ticket arrangement.

BAFTA maintains that trustees attending events in person is part of the job. A spokesperson said: "Trustees of BAFTA are invited to attend events in a working capacity, representing the Academy in an ambassadorial role." The Academy stands by free tickets for trustees themselves; its trustees serve voluntarily and include new chair Hilary Rosen.

What about tax?

Pritchett raised a second question: whether BAFTA properly paid tax on the tickets. "Since 2016, a benefit like this is likely to have been taxable, with National Insurance payable by BAFTA. BAFTA has not told me that anything has ever been reported. So I can't assure you whether it has or hasn't," he said at the AGM. No answer to that question has surfaced publicly.

Who gets to see the records?

The dispute also tests member access. Pritchett said a senior BAFTA executive refused his request for records of who received free awards tickets, citing "no policy." Sara Putt, BAFTA's former chair, revealed at the AGM that the Academy had obtained its own legal advice based on a fuller picture of the ticketing issue — advice that has not been shared with Pritchett or other members.

Pritchett framed the refusal in financial terms: "Last year, you paid £4.7 million in membership fees. The records belong to the charity that you subscribe to. And if the person you elected can be refused those records, citing no rule, then the right to see anything is gone forever." He had privately raised concerns with BAFTA officials for months before going public.

His closing demand to future trustees was blunt: "Will you obey the law, pay any taxes due, and pay back anything that is due? Correct the accounts, open the records to the committee as the rules require."

The Guardian first reported the AGM events. The review is underway; its scope, leadership names and timetable remain unpublished.