Maura Higgins Stuns in Red Dress at BAFTAs

Maura Higgins was among the arrivals at the EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday afternoon after making waves in Hollywood.

The Love Island star, 35, who is appearing on the current series of The Traitors US, mingled with the A-list at the prestigious ceremony at The Royal Festival Hall.

Maura turned heads in a red form-fitting satin dress, with structured detailing across the chest and a dramatic train that followed her down the carpet.

The statement gown, which featured delicate black beading, was teamed with a pair of black sheer opera gloves and minimal jewellery.

Maura wore her brunette locks slicked back into a tight bun and enhanced her pretty features with a glamorous coat of make-up.

While Maura has yet to be nominated for any awards, she has just made her acting debut in Irish comedy, The Spin. 

Maura Higgins was among the arrivals at the EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday afternoon after making waves in Hollywood after her Traitors US appearance

The Love Island star, 35, who is appearing on the current series of the reality show, mingled with the A-list at prestigious ceremony at The Royal Festival Hall

Maura was said to have 'impressed big Hollywood executives' with her appearance.

However, Maura, who plays Rose in the feel-good road movie, has less than two minutes of air time in the 1 hour 32 minute film.

In a scene shortly after, she adds: 'Ugh Dermot can we please just do it tomorrow because I've had just such a long day and I'm knackered. Yeah I've had just such a long day.' 

After an hour of the movie passes, Maura returns to the screen and says just one more line.

The film follows Dermot (Brenock O'Connor) and Elvis (Owen Colgan), two music lovers who run a struggling record shop in Omagh, Northern Ireland.

Facing an unpaid rent bill and their vicious landlord Sadie (Derry Girls' Tara Lynne O'Neill), who's eager to get them out of her building, the pair stumble across a deal too good to be true: rare, vintage records of blues legend Robert Johnson for sale in Cork at a knock-down price.

If they can make it to the other end of Ireland in time, then maybe they could get the rare vinyl, and save the shop…

Maura turned heads in a red form-fitting satin dress, with structured detailing across the chest and a dramatic train that followed her down the carpet

The statement gown, which featured delicate black beading, was teamed with a pair of black sheer opera gloves and minimal jewellery

Maura wore her brunette locks slicked back into a tight bun and enhanced her pretty features with a glamorous coat of make-up

While Maura has yet to be nominated for any awards, she has just made her acting debut in Irish comedy, The Spin

With just two days to get there the pair head off in a rusty Vauxhall as old as the hills.

As they navigate their journey, they meet locals and make new friends along the way.

Despite Maura's film debut being just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo, she reportedly caught the attention of industry insiders who were eager to find out Maura's future movie plans.

Directed by filmmaker Michael Head, the movie follows two music-obsessed friends on a frantic two-day road trip across Ireland, to save their record shop from closing. 

Maura appears alongside Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt and actor Brencock O'Connor.

The actress plays Brenock's (Dermot) onscreen girlfriend at the beginning of the film and looks a far cry from her red-carpet-ready appearance as she stripped back her makeup and swept her hair behind her face.

In her first ever script, she says: 'Ah there you are, did you play already?', before shouting 'play Coldplay' when Brenock performs in their local bar.

Sources last year claimed: 'Everyone was talking about Maura and how great she was. She can act and people were impressed.

Maura was said to have 'impressed big Hollywood executives' with her appearance in new Irish comedy The Spin - yet her appearance is a blink-and-you-miss-it-cameo

Maura, who plays Rose in the feel-good road movie, has less than two minutes of air time in the 1 hour 32 minute film

'There were a lot of important people from the film in that room and conversations were taking place about what she does next', The Mirror reported.

The Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall will provide the backdrop as the very best of contemporary cinema converge for the The 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday evening. 

Hosted by Alan Cumming, this year's ceremony will welcome stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Jacob Elordi and Michael B. Jordan as the year's biggest cinema releases are honoured.

Those walking the red carpet will be treated to a DJ set by Magic FM presenter Neev Spencer, while Clara Amfo and Ali Plumb will be reporting live from outside the legendary London venue. 

A lengthy list of celebrity guest presenters includes Aimee Lou Wood, Alicia Vikander, Cillian Murphy, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sadie Sink and British grime artist Stormzy. 

The Royal Festival Hall stage will also welcome appearances from Kerry Washington, Minnie Driver, Monica Bellucci, Patrick Dempsey and Regé-Jean Page, among others. 

Entertainment on the night will come from a diverse spectrum of performers, including a first performance outside the United States of record breaking track Golden from KPop Demon Hunters, sung by JAE, AUDREYNUNA & REI AMI, the voices of HUNTR/X. 

Her blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo reportedly caught the attention of industry insiders who were eager to find out Maura's future movie plans

Meanwhile, British singer Jessie Ware will perform a Barbara Streisand cover in a moving tribute during the In Memoriam.

This year's Special Award recipients include Dame Donna Langley, who will be honoured with this year’s BAFTA Fellowship, the arts charity’s highest accolade. 

The British Chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment will be celebrated for her prolific career and as of the most influential and respected figures in the entertainment industry.

Additionally, Clare Binns, Creative Director of Picture House Cinemas, will be presented with the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award. 

The honour recognises her role in championing diverse and fiercely independent work on big screens around the United Kingdom. 

One Battle After Another will be no doubt be hoping to win one award after another, with Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film earning a remarkable fourteen nominations at this year's ceremony. 

But it faces stiff competition, notably from supernatural horror Sinners, with thirteen nominations, and Hamnet, director Chloé Zhao's moving drama about the death of Shakespeare's only son, with eleven. 

Adapted for the screen from Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel about the Bard's family life, Hamnet has broken the record for the most nominations for a female-directed film in BAFTA history. 

Hosted by Alan Cumming, this year's ceremony will welcome stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet, Jacob Elordi and Michael B. Jordan

Meanwhile, British singer Jessie Ware will perform a Barbara Streisand cover in a moving tribute during the In Memoriam 

Irish star Jessie Buckley has been nominated for her lead role in the film after already scoring a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award and nominations for the Academy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. 

Co-star Paul Mescal, who was was snubbed during Oscar nominations, will also be hoping for an award after earning a Supporting Actor BAFTA nod. 

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Alicia Vikander flashes her abs in a floral embroidered gown as she joins Minnie Driver, Rose Byrne and Maura Higgins on the star-studded red carpet at the BAFTAs 2026

Elsewhere, Marty Supreme and Timothée Chalamet will be hoping to make it three times lucky after earning eleven BAFTA nominations, including Best Film and Best Actor, following recent wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. 

Frankenstein and Sentimental Value each have eight whilst there are five nominations for I Swear and Bugonia, and three nominations for The Ballad of Wallis Island, Pillion and F1. 

Also vying for the Leading Actress BAFTA are Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You; Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue; Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another; Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value and Emma Stone for Bugonia.

Leonardo DiCaprio could earn his second ever BAFTA after scoring his seventh nomination, this year for his Leading Actor performance in the already heavily decorated movie One Battle After Another.

First time BAFTA Film nominees include Robert Aramayo, Odessa A'zion, Rose Byrne, Chase Infiniti, Michael B. Jordan, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård, and Teyana Taylor. 

Emma Baehr, Executive Director of Awards and Content, said: 'We are delighted to welcome so many of this year’s remarkable nominees to London for the EE BAFTA Film Awards, a vibrant celebration of the creativity, craft and collaboration that goes into British and global cinema. 

'It’s especially exciting to have such an impressive lineup of presenters joining us on the night, representing the very best of film and the wider creative industries. 

'This year’s ceremony is set to be an unforgettable occasion for audiences at home and in the room.' 

BAFTA’s mission as a charity is to champion the creative and cultural importance of the screen arts across film, games and television. 

Through its Awards ceremonies and year-round programme of talent initiatives and learning events that include masterclasses, lectures, scholarships, bursaries and mentoring schemes in the UK and North America, BAFTA identifies and celebrates excellence, discovers, inspires and nurtures new screen talent, and enables learning and creative collaboration. 

The ceremony will be broadcast at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and on E! in North America at 8:00pm Eastern Time. The awards will also be available on a number of other broadcasters internationally.