Bafta nominations: Fred West drama leads contenders for TV awards

• Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor miss out in entertainment category

• Dominic West and Emily Watson nominated for roles in Fred West mini series

• Downton Abbey’s Dame Maggie Smith up for best supporting actress

ITV1’s Appropriate Adult’s haul of nods includes best actor for Dominic West, who played the murderer, and best actress for Emily Watson, as well as best supporting actress and best mini series.

BBC1 hit Sherlock and Channel 4’s gritty This Is England ‘88 have three nominations apiece for the Arqiva British Academy Television Awards, which take place on May 27.

Sherlock’s nominations throw up a battle against good and evil with both Watson (Martin Freeman) and Moriarty (Andrew Scott) battling for best supporting actor.

Simon Cowell’s hugely popular shows Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor have failed to make it on to the shortlist for best entertainment programme.

Instead it will be fought out between Harry Hill’s TV Burp, Derren Brown: The Experiments, Michael McIntyre’s Christmas Comedy Roadshow and Celebrity Juice, starring Keith Lemon.

Alongside West, the best actor nominees are Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch, John Simm (Exile) and Joseph Gilgun (This Is England ‘88).

Last year’s best actress, Vicky McClure, is nominated once more for her continuing portrayal of Lol in the This Is England dramas. She faces Romola Garai for The Crimson Petal And The White, Nadine Marshall for Random and Watson for Appropriate Adult.

Screen veteran Dame Maggie Smith - who has already picked up five Baftas over her career - is up for the supporting actress title for Downton Abbey, alongside Anna Chancellor (The Hour), Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult) and Miranda Hart (Call The Midwife).

The awards are being staged at the Royal Festival Hall.

NOMINATIONS IN FULL

• Leading actor

Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, BBC1)

Dominic West (Appropriate Adult, ITV1)

John Simm (Exile, BBC1)

Joseph Gilgun (This is England ‘88, Channel 4)

• Leading actress

Emily Watson (Appropriate Adult, ITV1)

Nadine Marshall (Random, Channel 4)

Romola Garai (The Crimson Petal And The White, BBC2)

Vicky McClure (This is England ‘88, Channel 4)

• Supporting actor

Andrew Scott (Sherlock, BBC1)

Joseph Mawle (Birdsong, BBC1)

Martin Freeman (Sherlock, BBC1)

Stephen Rea (The Shadowline, BBC2)

• Supporting actress

Anna Chancellor (The Hour, BBC2)

Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey, ITV1)

Miranda Hart (Call The Midwife, BBC1)

Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult, ITV1)

• Entertainment performance

Alan Carr (Alan Carr Chatty Man, Channel 4)

Dara O’ Briain (Mock The Week, BBC2)

Graham Norton (The Graham Norton Show, BBC1)

Harry Hill (Harry Hill’s TV Burp, ITV1)

• Female performance in a comedy programme

Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous, BBC1)

Olivia Colman (Twenty Twelve, BBC4)

Ruth Jones (Stella, Sky One)

Tamsin Greig (Friday Night Dinner, Channel 4)

• Male performance in a comedy programme

Brendan O’Carroll (Mrs Brown’s Boys, BBC1)

Darren Boyd (Spy, Sky One)

Hugh Bonneville (Twenty Twelve, BBC4)

Tom Hollander (Rev, BBC2)

• Single drama

Holy Flying Circus (BBC4)

Page Eight (BBC2)

Random (Channel 4)

Stolen (BBC1)

• Mini series

Appropriate Adult (ITV1)

The Crimson Petal And The White (BBC2)

This Is England ‘88 (Channel 4)

Top Boy (Channel 4)

• Drama series

The Fades (BBC3)

Misfits (E4)

Scott And Bailey (ITV1)

Spooks (BBC1)

• Soap and continuing drama

Coronation Street(ITV1)

EastEnders (BBC1)

Holby City (BBC1)

Shameless (Channel 4)

• International

Borgen (BBC4)

The Killing (BBC4)

Modern Family (Sky One)

The Slap (BBC4)

• Factual series

The Choir: Military Wives (BBC2)

Educating Essex (Channel 4)

Our War (BBC3)

Protecting Our Children: Damned If We Do Damned If We Don’t (BBC2)

• Specialist factual

British Masters (BBC4)

Frozen Planet (BBC1)

Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Last Secret (Channel 4)

Wonders Of The Universe (BBC2)

• Single documentary

9/11: The Day That Changed the World (ITV1)

The Fight Of Their Lives (ITV1)

Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die (BBC2)

Cutting Edge: We Need To Talk About Dad (Channel 4)

• Features

DIY SOS: The Big Build (BBC1)

Hairy Bikers’ Meals On Wheels (BBC2)

The Great British Bake Off (BBC2)

Timothy Spall: Somewhere At Sea (BBC4)