All Quiet On The Western Front Writer Vents 'Frustration' As Bafta Speech Is Cut From Broadcast

Former triathlete Lesley Paterson picked up her first win at the Baftas during Sunday night's ceremony.
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Lesley Paterson at the 2023 Baftas
Stuart Wilson/BAFTA via Getty Images

Screenwriter Lesley Paterson has admitted she was unhappy at having her acceptance speech cut out of this year’s Baftas broadcast.

On Sunday night, Lesley won her first Bafta for her work on the Netflix anti-war epic All Quiet On The Western Front, in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

However, while she made a speech on the night, it was not included in the BBC’s coverage of the ceremony, which aired mostly on a delay.

Asked about this during an interview on Monday’s edition of BBC Breakfast, Lesley said: “It’s definitely frustrating because it really does take a village to make a film and all of the team should be recognised, especially because we started this project so many years ago.

“But at the end of the day, I haven’t gotten this far by being negative about little things like that. I’m a positive positive person, I’m so, so happy with what’s happened.”

Lesley added: “It is what it is and hopefully I’ll get to say a speech at the Oscars.”

Before adapting All Quiet On The Western Front for the big screen, Lesley was a triathlete, winning gold at both the XTERRA Triathlon World Championships and ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships.

All Quiet On The Western Front was the big winner at the 2023 Baftas, scooping seven of the 14 awards it was nominated for, including Best Film and Best Director. 

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All Quiet On The Western Front won seven awards at the Baftas
Netflix

However, the show was also met with some controversy after viewers noticed that all of the night’s winners were white.

Check out the full list of winners here.