BAFTAs 2015: Benedict Cumberbatch 'doesn't understand' why David Oyelowo was snubbed

Benedict Cumberbatch said he doesn't "understand" why Selma actor David Oyelowo failed to receive a BAFTA nomination.

Speaking to Zoe Ball on the BAFTA red carpet on Sunday night, Cumberbatch, who is nominated in the best leading actor category for his role in The Imitation Game said: “I wish David Oyelowo was here tonight. For whatever reason he's not here I don't understand it. He would have got my vote."

He continued: "I'll be honouring him in my head tonight."

BAFTA chief executive Amanda Berry said last week that the film failing to receive a nomination was not because of an intentional snub but "because people didn't see it".

She said: "I'm heartbroken about Selma because the reason it hasn't got any nominations is because people didn't see it.

"The film wasn't delivered in the States until the end of November. Then a print has to be shipped over to the UK and then screenings have to be organised and DVD screeners have to be made.

"Before BAFTA voting started there were only three screenings of the film so only a matter of a few hundred people were reached and there are 6,500 BAFTA members."

Other stars gracing the red carpet outside London's Royal Opera House were Cumberbatch's Imitation Game co-star Keira Knightley, Birdman actors Michael Keaton and Edward Norton, as well as The Theory of Everything stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.

Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams, Rosamund Pike and David Beckham were also in attendance for the coveted awards bash.