Colin Firth admitted there was “immense excitement” about the forthcoming Oscars ceremony where he will be hoping to repeat his Bafta triumph.
The King's Speech swept the board at the ceremony in central London last night.
Firth, who is favourite to pick up the Best Actor award at the Hollywood ceremony, collected the Leading Actor Bafta for his portrayal of King George VI. The film scooped seven Baftas in all.
Speaking backstage, he joked he had “plenty of shelf space” for the awards he has won for the role as the king, and said he was looking forward to the Oscars. “There is immense excitement, there is no lack of excitement but it is very hard to talk about something that hasn’t happened," he said.
Asked about reports the film had been given royal approval by Queen Elizabeth II he said: “It would mean an enormous amount if that were to be the case. Even if the person you were playing had a living daughter who wasn’t the Queen it would be important.”
He had paid tribute to his family as he accepted the award. Referring to his role in the Abba-inspired Mamma Mia!, he said they remained "so steady whether they are dealing with a dancing queen or a sometime king".
He also paid tribute to his co-stars, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, who won awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.
In her acceptance speech, Bonham Carter warned her children “It’s not about the winning” and told Firth: “King Colin you’re deserving everything you’re getting.”
The film also picked up awards for Best Film, Original Music, Outstanding British Film and Original Screenplay for its writer David Seidler.
Seidler, who was born in London but later moved to the United States, said: “This is a nice way to come home.”
The writer, who overcame a speech impediment in his childhood, said: “For a stutterer, for a stammerer, to be heard is a wonderful thing.”
There was disappointment for the film's director Tom Hooper who lost out to David Fincher for the Facebook film The Social Network.
Natalie Portman won the Leading Actress award for her role as a ballet dancer in Black Swan.
The film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, accepted the award on her behalf, saying: “She is by far the most committed, dedicated, focused actor I have ever worked with.”
The event ended with a standing ovation for veteran actor Sir Christopher Lee.
He accepted the Bafta Fellowship from Tim Burton, who described the 88-year-old as an “electrifying screen presence”.
Lee, famous for his roles in dozens of horror films and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, thanked his "fellow thespians" and the Bafta committee. "This is a truly great honour, a great, great honour. Two things really make it so, the fact that this was voted to me by my peers and secondly that I received it from one of the great directors of our age," he said.
The ceremony had opened with a string of gags from host Jonathan Ross who promised that Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais would not get into the building.
He told the Americans in the audience at the Covent Garden venue: “This is pretty much what all of Britain looks like apart from one street where Ken Loach lives with Mike Leigh in a council flat.”
Dead Man's Shoes star Paddy Considine presented the prize for Short Film to Until The River Runs Red and the Short Animation award to The Eagleman Stag made by Michael Please.
Awards for Sound and Editing went to Inception and The Social Network respectively.
True Grit's young star, Hailee Steinfeld, gave the award for Make Up and Hair to Alice in Wonderland which starred Bonham Carter as The Red Queen.
The film also picked up the award for Costume Design.
The award for Film Not In The English Language went to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo based on Swedish crime writer Stieg Larsson's best-selling novel.
The award for Production Design went to Inception and Christopher Nolan's blockbuster also picked up the next award for Special Visual Effects.
The award for Outstanding Debut was presented by Kevin Spacey, who Ross described as "an honorary Englishman", to Chris Morris for his film, Four Lions, which took a satirical look at homegrown Islamist terrorists.
An award for Outstanding Contribution went to the Harry Potter films.
The author of the books, J K Rowling, came on stage to accept the award with members of the cast and crew including producer David Heyman.
The prize for Animated Film went to Toy Story 3 with Tom Hardy, getting the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star prize.
West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin was given the Adapted Screenplay award by The Kids Are All Right actress Julianne Moore for The Social Network.
He said: “Under normal circumstances I would be very excited about this but sitting in the seat in front of me is one of The Beatles.”
The prize for Cinematography went to Roger Deakins for the Coen brothers western True Grit.
PA