Rebel Wilson promises ‘cheekiest, filthiest jokes’ when she hosts Baftas

Rebel Wilson has promised to tell the “filthiest, cheekiest jokes” in a bid to “push the limits” when she hosts the Bafta film awards on Sunday.

The Pitch Perfect actress will follow in the footsteps of Graham Norton, Dame Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry when she takes to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall for the star-studded event.

She told the PA news agency: “I’m very scared of doing it, because it’s very nerve-wracking and I get very nervous for live performances.

“For movies I don’t get nervous but the live stuff, it’s kind of one and done.

“It’s a big crowd of everyone who could potentially employ you, so if you fail, that could be really bad… but I hope that people realise just that in my heart, I’m doing it to celebrate movies, to celebrate all the great people that work in movies.

“So in my heart, I have very good intentions, and I want just the show to be entertaining because then there’s more Baftas and it continues on.”

Asked about the tone she wants to set, Wilson said: “You love everybody there but you’ve got to make jokes, you can’t not.

“You’ve got to make some quips because the people who are coming are quite successful.

“In Australia, our culture is you can take potshots at people if they’re successful, so I’ll be doing a little bit of that.

“It is fun and celebratory as a theme in the show but then I can’t help myself, I don’t know whether it’s because my mum called me Rebel or whatever, but I think of the filthiest, cheekiest jokes, that’s what I think about, and then I email them to myself.

“Then I look at the back of them and I’m like: ‘Ooh sugar. I don’t know whether I can say that,’ but I’m probably going to try, just because you’ve got to push the limits.

“You don’t just want a boring awards show. You want some things for people to talk about.”

She added: “I just I love the Baftas, it’s so classy. The first time I went, I was like: ‘Oh my god, this is the classiest thing ever.’ But I am Australian and Australians are just not as classy sometimes, but they chose me to come and do it.”

Wilson also hinted that the Baftas will not be her last time on a London stage, saying: “I love London, I just got a place here. I love working here, the talent is just incredible, not only in films and TV, but my first love is theatre, I’ve come from the stage, and and it’s just incredible.

“So I think you will be seeing me soon, which would be awesome because I love the West End and performing.”

The EE British Academy Film Awards are on BBC One on Sunday at 7pm.