Published Monday, 28 May 2012
And although everyone's gathered to hear who is taking home the most gongs, the real focus is on what the celebrity (often used in the loosest possible term) ladies are wearing.
The high temperatures in London meant lightweight fabrics were popular, while dresses ranged from ranged from baby blue and pastel pink to bright orange and yellow. Waists were the emphasis of many outfits, with ruching and dresses cinched in to highlight curves.
Despite the loud colours, black was also on the style menu for former Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly and castmate Natalie Gunmede, while Davina McCall appeared in a mid-length zebra print dress and hot pink court shoes.
Lydia Bright, from The Only Way is Essex, has really shone recently as the reality star with a sense of style, and her pale gown with silver highlights looked effortless on the red carpet.
Kelly Brook and Holly Willoughby stuck to their favoured styles, form-hugging and emphasising their little waists, but the pair pulled off the added twists with varying degrees of success. While most of the gowns were full length, Kelly's 50s style dress was much shorter, and Holly opted for pale pink, bringing her dangerously close to Princess Barbie territory.
The soap actresses can usually be expected to bring the more unusual looks of the evening and this year Michelle Keegan (Corrie's Tina) brought the love it or hate it look with a draped and studded liquid-metal look floor length number.
Little Lauren Branning (Eastenders actress Jacqueline Jossa) was looking very grown up and much older than her 19 years in an embroidered dress that would have suited someone more mature down to the ground.
Elsewhere, Jenni Falconer showed Michelle just how to pull off a metallic gown while Louise Rednapp's dark, shapeless drop-waist dress did little to flatter her figure.
As TOWIE stars Amy Childs and Harry Derbridge posed together on the red carpet, it was Amy's rather enormous Jessica-Rabbit-red bun that hogged the limelight, but there was also competition from her too tight powder blue gown. Her Essex-extreme outfit stood in stark contrast to Made in Chelsea's Francesca Hull, who looked glamorous in an embellished Grecian gown and casual wavy hair.
Presenter Alex Jones plucked up the courage to don an acid bright dress, and while not everybody can wear yellow, she pulled it off with aplomb. Teamed with a bright red lipstick and dark nails, Alex looked fantastic, but I think a loose, wavy up do would have completed the look.
Emilia Fox looked like she could have been going to the Oscars in her elegant gown with had a textured top and long, voluminous skirt, which even came with pockets. The mixture of fabrics used was stunning and the pockets did not ruin the line of the skirt, although I'm sure she wished someone could have given the skirt a run over with the steamer to get rid of any last minute creases.
Check out the rest of the gallery to see the best and worst of the BAFTA TV Awards looks.