The FIDO Awards are often described as the Oscars or the BAFTAs for dogs. Created in 2007 by film journalist Toby Rose, the awards celebrate the extraordinary canine performers who appear on the big screen and often steal scenes from their human co-stars. And it is always held between the BAFTA and the Oscars.
FIDOS stands for For Incredible Dogs On Screen, and over the years, the ceremony has become a much-loved part of the film calendar in London. While traditional awards celebrate actors, directors and writers, the FIDOs recognise the four-legged stars of cinema with categories that have wonderfully dog-themed names such as Historical Hound, Comedy Canine and Blockbuster Bowser.
The idea behind the awards is simple: dogs have played memorable roles in films for decades, but their performances rarely receive the recognition they deserve. The FIDOs change that by putting canine talent centre stage.
The 2026 FIDO Awards, held on the 1st March at the British Film Institute, marked the event’s 20th anniversary, celebrating another year of standout canine performances. This year’s winners included:
- Historical Hound – Hamnet – Toad, the Jack Russell
- Rom Com Rover – Pillion – Maggie (“Rosie”), the Rottweiler
- Mutt Moment – I Swear – April (“Rosie”), the Springer Spaniel
- Blockbuster Bowser – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – the Huskies
- Comedy Canine – Merv – Gus, a terrier-mix rescue dog
- Horror Hounds – Good Boy – Indy, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
- Femme Fido – Dragonfly – Dixie (“Sabre”), the American Bulldog
- The Caravan Cup – The Summer With Carmen – Nala, the Chihuahua
The night’s top honour, Best In World, also went to Dixie the American Bulldog for her performance in Dragonfly.
Among all the canine stars, there is one award that recognises the bond between humans and dogs: the FiDogManitarian Award.
I was told in advance that I would be receiving the award this year, but standing there on the day, I felt genuinely humbled. There are so many people around the world doing the truly hard work of rescuing dogs, rehabilitating them and giving them a second chance at life.
My role is tiny in comparison. I chose to use my platform to highlight those people and the extraordinary dogs they save. Through sharing their stories, the hope has always been to shine a light on rescue work and encourage more people to consider adoption.
Receiving the 2026 FiDogManitarian Award was therefore a real honour, and perhaps a reminder that sometimes even a small spotlight can help more people discover the power of a second chance.
At the after-party, we had the best fun meeting some of the two-legged celebrities, Jean Christoph Bouvet (aka Pierre Cadault, Emily in Paris) and Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood)
