BB FANS

This year's awards will be presented at a ceremony in London on 17 April, which is being hosted by Graham Norton.

BBC leads Bafta's TV nominations
Vicky Pollard and teacher from the BBC's Little Britain
Little Britain is nominated in two categories
BBC programmes including Little Britain and Strictly Come Dancing are among the nominations for the Bafta TV Awards.

Little Britain is in the running for best comedy series, while Matt Lucas and David Walliams are shortlisted for best comedy performance.

The ballroom dance show faces I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here and Friday Night With Jonathan Ross for the Lew Grade entertainment series award.

EastEnders failed to gain a nomination for the second year in succession.

Double nominees

But BBC series Holby City and Doctors have been shortlisted in the continuing drama category, along with ITV's Coronation Street and The Bill.

The BBC has bagged a total of 39 nominations, followed by Channel 4 with 17, ITV with 14, while Five and Sky have collected one each.


Michael Palin in his Bafta-nominated series Himalaya

Bafta TV Award nominations

I'm A Celebrity hosts Ant & Dec are also nominated for best entertainment performance, and face opposition from Paul O'Grady and Paul Merton for his long-running role on Have I Got News For You?

Nighty Night - another comedy that began life on BBC3 - has been shortlisted twice, for best sitcom and comedy performance for its star and creator, Julia Davis.

A number of drama shows have scored two nominations both drama and acting categories, including Channel 4's Shameless and Dirty Filthy Love.

The ITV drama about a man's struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Order also gains a best actor nomination for Michael Sheen.

Best drama

Shameless competes alongside BBC productions Spooks, Bodies and Conviction for the title of best drama series.

Michael Palin's Himalaya series has been nominated for best factual series - his 1990 programme Around The World In 80 Days won three Bafta TV awards.

Television news and current affairs is also recognised at the awards, with coverage of the tsunami disaster and the Madrid bombings among the nominations. BBC

EastEnders has failed to be nominated for a single Bafta for the second successive year.

The soap - which saw viewing figures plummet to under 7m - has been left off the shortlist for Best Continuing Drama, the main soap award.

Even BBC1 daytime soap Doctors made the list. Corrie, Holby City and The Bill completes those shows in the running.

It is a hammerblow for EastEnders, which has stumbled badly with a host of poor storylines and has been criticised for weak characters such as the Ferreiras and villain Andy Hunter.

In recent months viewing figures have gradually increased - but it was not enough for Bafta judges.

A Beeb source said: "The show has been through a lot of changes. We expect to be back in contention next year."

SKY Monday March 14, 2005