Outrageous competition

Siobhan Marshall as Pascalle West from Outrageous Fortune.

They may rule the west but Outrageous Fortune's West family are no longer the reigning champions of the the Qantas Television Awards with tough competition from two made-for-television specials.

Until Proven Innocent became the awards' frontrunner this week, nominated for nine, against Outrageous Fortune's seven. Piece of My Heart, starring Annie Whittle and Keisha Castle-Hughes, is neck-and-neck with the Wests, also with seven nominations.

Both Piece of My Heart and Until Proven Innocent were commissioned by TVNZ for the Sunday Theatre slot, as part of a new initiative to focus on one-off local productions.

Both Whittle and Castle-Hughes scored acting nods for their roles, as did their co-star Emily Barclay.

Siobhan Marshall and Antony Starr were the only Outrageous Fortune castmates to be recognised at this year's awards, while Owen Black scored Shortland Street's only nomination for his role as the slain surgeon Ethan Pierce.

Several newcomers also earned spots in this year's nominations, including Go Girls, The Jaquie Brown Diaries and The Millen Baird Show.

In the news categories, TV One dominated the nominations with six nods each for One News and Close Up, and five nominations for Sunday.

3 News managed four nominations, including best news, while Campbell Live earned just one, for best camera.

The awards will be presented at a joint film and television awards ceremony next month at the Civic Theatre.