Laura Whitmore, Sharon Horgan and Maura Higgins among Irish stars at Bafta TV Awards

As the prestigious event began at the Royal Festival Hall, actors and reality stars made their way down the red carpet ahead of the award ceremony.

The event, hosted by comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan, got underway at 7pm.

Bray native Whitmore and her husband Iain Stirling posed for photos on arrival.

Sharon Horgan was nominated for best actress for her role in BBC’s Best Interests, which also starred Irish newcomer Niamh Moriarty. Horgan missed out to Sarah Lancashire, for her role in Happy Valley.

Graham Norton, who was nominated in two categories for his longstanding Friday night BBC chat show, missed out to Joe Lycett for his show Late Night Lycett and Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan for their series Rob & Romesh VS.

Fellow Irish stars Róisín Gallagher, Éanna Hardwicke and Máiréad Tyers were also nominated at this year’s awards.

Gallagher was nominated in the Female Performance in a Comedy category for The Lovers.

Tyers was also nominated in the same category for her Disney+ series Extraordinary, and the hit show’s writer-creator, Co Fermanagh’s Emma Moran, was nominated in the Scripted Comedy category.

Hardwicke, who was nominated in the Supporting Actor category for his performance in the BBC true-crime series The Sixth Commandment, lost out to Matthew Macfadyen for his role in Succession.

Maura Higgins was also in attendance, the former Love Island star and host stunned in a black off the shoulder gown with a peplum detail which tapered towards the floor.

The reality star opted for minimal accessories to pair with her look – wearing delicate, simple bangles around her wrist and drop earrings.

Love Island star Georgia Harrison sported a bold red dress featuring a white, ruffled bust, leaving two parts of her midriff exposed.

Harrison, who appeared in the first season of Love Island All Stars, paired the look with a small red handbag with white detail and stacked white rings on her fingers.

In a similar fashion, actress Hannah Waddingham wore a low cut black dress with silver, sparkly detailing around the upper trim.

The star, who was nominated for entertainment performance for her show Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas, kept her accessories minimal and wore a pair of silver earrings to accompany the look.

Across the pond now as American radio presenter Ashley Roberts also opted for black, sporting a lacy dress featuring a high neck and long sleeves, as well as a cut-out around her midriff and left leg.

The singer and dancer accessorised the look with strappy black sandals featuring white detail.

One star who appeared to dress in contrast to other attendees on the red carpet was comedian Joe Lycett, who dressed as Queen Elizabeth I.

Lycett wore a white cape, which resembled a gown and trailed along the floor, as well as an Elizabethan-style ruff around his neck.

His unusual choice of outfit came after he promised his aunties that he would don period dress if they managed to get 100,000 followers for their Instagram account.

The star also sported a white shirt with a black bow and carried two different types of fan on the red carpet, one battery-powered and one manual as the sun beat down on the English capital.