‘It’s a pretty glamorous dress,’ says Jessica Gunning of the bespoke Loewe gown she wore to the 2025 TV BAFTAs, where she won her fourth major award for her role as Martha in Netflix's Baby Reindeer. ‘I'm very lucky. All of the team there are just so fantastic, and so I felt very fortunate indeed that they made me this custom dress.’
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The gown itself is a dark green velvet off-the-shoulder style adorned with two gold feathers (a recent signature motif for Loewe) that swoop across her chest. Yet, for all its Loewe abstract detailing, there’s something pure old Hollywood glamour about the gown.
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‘There were something like 12 design ideas at the beginning, and every single one was just amazing, but this one stood out to me because I love the deep green,’ Gunning says of choosing the column-style gown. ‘It just looked so unusual and I'd never seen anything like it before.’
It’s been a year since Gunning and her Baby Reindeer co-star Richard Gadd made their first appearance at the TV BAFTAs under the umbrella of the Netflix show. Twelve months on and having swapped presenting for a Best Supporting Actress win, Gunning explains the dress also helps tell the story of this full-circle narrative. ‘There is something about it that is a little bit of a mix of dresses I've worn over the last year. I thought it was a nice amalgamation of the feel of quite a few of them and so a lovely way to finish the whole Baby Reindeer journey by wearing it to the BAFTAs.’
Her stylist Sarah-Rose Harrison agrees: 'We made a dream list at the start of our partnership and we’ve been ticking them off as Jessica has collected her awards. Loewe was at the top of Jessica’s list from day one so to end this journey with such a beautiful moment with the brand has been a beautiful bookend to the whole experience.'
Working with Loewe, the Spanish house that consistently takes the title of the hottest brand in the world, isn’t lost on Gunning. ‘It’s surreal,’ she says. ‘Equally, as a plus-size woman it’s amazing for them to be embracing me and my shape in making this just for me. Beyond the dress, even the sketches from Loewe really looked like me, too.’
‘It’s all been so personal,’ she affirms. ‘Every fitting has always been about my comfort and how confident I am in it. They’ll tweak anything to make sure I’m feeling amazing.’
Gunning’s almost disbelief at this fact comes from what she says is previously having difficulty to get clothes that fit her — something anyone that sits outside of standard sizing will understand. ‘I'm somebody who has forever been plus size, and so I did find it hard when I was younger [to dress fashionably] as only a few stores stocked plus sizes. Nowadays it is a lot easier to be able to walk in and find something.’ Or, just have the coolest brands make you something fabulous instead!
There’s scarcely been an awards show that Gunning has missed in the last 12 months, winning at the Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG awards. Does it mean that the nerves go out the window when an evening on a red carpet and being lauded by your industry peers becomes commonplace? Not quite, she says.
‘This year has been amazing in terms of the amount of awards ceremonies we've had a chance to go to, but the nerves? The nerves stay the same,’ she laughs. ‘But luckily there's an amazing glam team of people who help calm things down. I get to have my hair done and my makeup done, and, so that does ease the nerves slightly. We put music on and get into a really celebratory mood. Before you know it, you're on the red carpet, you're away!’ What else helps? A pre-awards facial at beauty editor favourite Pfeffer Sal.
The other essential preparation is a measured approach to planning out a speech should she win on the night. Not too much, not too little. ‘I did a film with the lovely Imelda Staunton, and I always remember she said to a bunch of us “if you are ever lucky enough to be nominated for something, have a little think about what you would say because if you're in the moment and you forget someone's name or you don't have anything prepared, you might forever regret it.”’ And Staunton’s words have stuck.
‘So I've always had that in the back of my mind. I never want to jinx anything or expect anything. I just want to enjoy the evening, but I always have a little thought just like “OK, well, if I was lucky enough to go up there what kind of thing would I say?” So I've got a kind of loose idea.’
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