'Conclave' was named Outstanding British Film at the EE BAFTAs

Celia Imrie and Naomi Ackie presented the accolade to director Edward Berger, who said: "Thank you so very much, VAFTA, this is a huge honour and I'm not even from here, so thank you for welcoming me in your arms.

"I really wanna thank the crew, we are just a small group of people here on the stage but when the right ones come along, you know the difference, and this one did! Thank you for gifting all your ideas, and your inspiration.

"You made it so much better than it ever could have been, so thank you."

The German-born moviemaker believes that the world is in a state of "crisis" when it comes to democracy, and explained that the film - which follows the election of the next pope - was inspired by the political climate of the world today.

He said: "We live in a time, in a crisis of democracy. Insitutions that usually used to bring us together are used to tear us apart, and sometimes it's hard to keep the faith.

"But that's why we made this movie.

"To end with a quote by Leonard Cohen, 'There's a crack in everything and that's how the light gets in!'"