National Film Awards UK nominees or films must be based in the country of origin except the Best Foreign Film category. 2016, the mobile network O2 (UK) sponsored the awards During the ceremony, National Film Awards UK pauses to pay tribute to those in the industry who died over the previous twelve months, with a montage of images accompanied by music. In 2016 the legendary late actor Alan Rickman was honored. In 2015 Dame Judi Dench was voted by academy members to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award whilst the 2016 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Dame Helen Mirren David Jason and Nicholas
Judi Dench playhouse project due to be completed in 2019 in the town of Prescot in Knowsley, near Liverpool. She is patron of East Park Riding for the Disabled, a riding school for disabled children at Newchapel, Surrey. Dench is also a Vice-President of national charity Revitalise, that provides accessible holidays for those with disabilities. In 2011, along with musician Sting and billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, she publicly urged policy makers to adopt more progressive drug policies by decriminalizing drug use. Dench was one of 200 celebrities to sign an open letter to the people of Scotland asking them to vote No