Mary Poppins Returns director says Emily Blunt ‘was robbed’ at the Baftas and The Oscars

This year that meant Mary ­Poppins Returns was snubbed ­altogether, despite ­Emily Blunt’s sublime recreation of Julie Andrews’ iconic role, and critical praise for her ­performance of a lifetime.

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Indeed, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards — voted on by fellow actors — the Brit won best ­supporting actress for horror movie A Quiet Place, rather than the Disney sequel.

Ahead of the EE Baftas on ­Sunday, her director Rob ­Marshall — a multi Oscar and Emmy winner himself — has lashed out at the snub.

He said: “Well, I will say that it was disappointing, there’s no question, and I think people felt that.

“She really did the impossible by taking on this role and doing such extraordinary work with it.

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"But I will say that after the soon-to-be-forgotten awards season, which will be a few weeks from now, her ­performance will last the test of time and it will live forever, because it’s so extraordinary.

“And I will say Emily, like me, is a sort of very positive person and just sees that . . .  sees the good, sees what she did, sees how people are responding to the film and her performance, and that’s what you really carry with you.”

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Marshall spoke up for close friend Emily as he collected the Cinematic Imagery Award at the ADG Excellence in ­Production Design Awards.

The director behind Oscar-winning Chicago and nominated Into The Woods believes a bias against the musical genre is a big ­problem.

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He said: “I don’t feel that they’re given the same weight or attention in a way as other films, because they don’t feel as politically relevant.

“But to me, they’re 100 times harder to make and what she did on this film was so extraordinary.”

I couldn’t agree more — to ignore The Greatest Showman ­followed by Mary ­Poppins Returns two years in a row is totally out of touch.

What I've learned...Bafta special

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THIS is the most wide open Oscar race in years – and the EE Baftas may not ­provide the clarity they usually offer as a guide to the main Hollywood awards.

As you’ll see in my Should Win/Will Win guide, Bafta voters are expected to favour The Favourite, an archetypal British film with a beloved leading actress in Olivia Colman.

I think it deserves best film, but the Netflix foreign language-heavy Roma – the Oscar favourite – is solid competition.

Other tight Bafta races at Sunday night’s ceremony include best actor (Rami Malek vs Christian Bale) and best supporting actress, where the Oscar favourite Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk was not even nominated.

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