SMALL AXE, the Steve McQueen drama series beloved by critics but overlooked by audiences, has scored a record number of Bafta TV nominations.
The anthology of five films chronicled the black British experience from the 1970s onwards.
In its Sunday night slot on BBC One, it drew modest ratings of just over one million viewers per episode.
But Bafta voters garlanded it with 15 nominations, including best writer, best mini-series, leading actress for Letitia Wright and leading actor for both John Boyega and Shaun Parkes.
The two actors appeared in separate films, playing real-life figures: Boyega as Leroy Logan, founding member and former chair of the Black Police Association, and Parkes as Frank Crichlow, a Notting Hill restaurant owner whose intimidation by police sparked a riot and the ensuing Mangrove Nine court case.
Small Axe is up against a BBC ratings hit, Normal People, which became the most popular series
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