THE IRISH IN the UK have put in a good showing on the Bafta television awards’ nomination list.
Presenter and comedian Dara O Briain has received his first ever nomination. O Briain is also set to host this year’s awards, taking over from fellow nominee and Irishman Graham Norton. Their competition in the entertainment performance category is provided by Alan Carr and two-time winner Harry Hill.
The UK’s love affair with Brendan O’Carroll – and more specifically his altar ego Mrs. Brown – and his [her] boys continues as the show gets two nods. O’Carroll himself is up for the award for a male performance in a comedy, while the programme has been nominated in the situation comedy category.
ITV’s Appropriate Adult leads the pack with four nominations for leading actor and actress, supporting actress and mini-series.
Five-time BAFTA winner and Academy Fellow Maggie Smith has, unsurprisingly, been nominated in the supporting actress category for her role in Downton Abbey.
In what turned out to be a busy year, the news category is hotly contested by the BBC News at Ten team for its coverage of the siege of Homs, the Channel 4 News for a programme about the Japan earthquake, ITV News at Ten for their presence during the battle of Misrata and Sky News for the live feeds of the Libyan rebels as they began their dramatic advance toward’s the capital Tripoli.
Al Jazeera has received its first nomination for the current affairs award after its coverage of events in Bahrain.
The Sports category has been expanded to include all Live Events and BBC’s coverage of The Royal Wedding (this week, last year) made the cut.
