Extras leads Bafta nominations

Life On Mars, Extras and a drama about Lord Longford's campaign to free Moors Murderer Myra Hindley are front-runners at the TV Baftas.Extras stars Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will compete for Best Comedy Performance, alongside Dawn French for The Vicar of Dibley and Liz Smith for her performance as Nana in The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba.Life On Mars has been nominated for Best Drama Series, up against Shameless, The Street and Sugar Rush.The ITV Evening News is also up for a Bafta, in the News Coverage category.John Simm is a Best Actor contender for his role as time-travelling cop Sam Tyler, although his Life On Mars co-star Philip Glenister has been overlooked.The other nominees are Jim Broadbent and Andy Serkis for Longford and Michael Sheen for Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! Broadbent played prison reform campaigner Lord Longford in the Channel 4 drama, while Serkis played Ian Brady.Samantha Morton is in the running for the Best Actress prize for her portrayal of Hindley, alongside Anne-Marie Duff for The Virgin Queen, Ruth Wilson for Jane Eyre and Victoria Wood for Housewife 49.Longford is also nominated for Best Single Drama.The Best Continuing Drama award - otherwise known as Best Soap - is a four-way race between EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Casualty. Emmerdale's nomination is its first in six years.The Apprentice is up against Dragon's Den, The Choir and Gordon Ramsay's The F Word for Best Feature.Best Entertainment Performance will go to either Jonathan Ross, Paul Merton, Stephen Fry or Ant and Dec, while Best Entertainment Programme will be one of Dancing On Ice, The X Factor, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Derren Brown: The Heist.The Royle Family's Christmas special is nominated for Best Sitcom, as is Green Wing, The IT Crowd and Pulling.The Catherine Tate Show, Little Britain Abroad, little Miss Jocelyn and That Mitchell & Webb Look are contenders for Best Comedy Series.Graham Norton will host the awards from the London Palladium.Love Actually and Vicar of Dibley writer Richard Curtis will receive an Academy Fellowship, honouring his lifetime's work.The ceremony will also include the Pioneer Audience Award for the best programme of 2006, the only prize of the night voted by the public.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | May 20, 2007

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