The return to normality after two years of lockdowns, social distancing and Zoom quizzes has been a shaky experience for many. And as the 2022 Baftas (BBC One) reverted to that dimly remembered tradition of red carpets, live audiences and celebrities sitting alongside one another pretending to laugh at each other’s jokes, it was clear that, if nature is healing, show business isn’t quite there yet.

It was an evening full of surprises and with some of the greatest talent in contemporary cinema rubbing elbows. And yet as 120 minutes of Sunday night television it was the equivalent of riding one of those huge worms in Dune. It was certainly an experience but there were lots of queasy moments to go along with the excitement.

As host Rebel Wilson was no-holds barred in her determination to tickle ribs. And the Australian’s Tinseltown gumption allowed her to plough on when a gag wasn’t working – for instance, when she floundered through an interminable sketch in which she presented Benedict Cumberbatch with a cake baked in his image.

Wilson was game throughout and refused to be flustered as the groaners piled up. She joked about her dramatic weight loss since she last presented at the Baftas in 2020. There was a wisecrack about Cats, the song-and-dance shocker in which she starred and which was set to be the worst thing to happen in 2020 until Coronavirus snatched the crown.

She also took potshots at JK Rowling while simultaneously hailing Netflix for defying cancel culture (pssst the streamer is releasing her latest film this summer). And yet her most resounding gesture was her simplest, with a speech about sign language movie CODA concluding with her waving a single digit in the direction of Vladimir Putin.