Little Britain’ nominated for Bafta TV awards

Quirky sketch show Little Britain is in line for yet more success, picking up two nominations for the BAFTA television awards.

The show, which parodies life in suburban Britain and features a bizarre array of characters, was nominated in the Best Comedy Series category and its stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams were short-listed for Best Comedy Performance.

The show, which began life on radio, developed a cult audience on digital channel BBC3 thanks to the popularity of its characters such as "Dafydd", who refuses to accept he is not the only gay in a Welsh village.

Its success prompted a move to the mainstream BBC1 channel although its content had to be toned down. It has since won several national awards.

Channel 4's Shameless was nominated for the Best Drama Series title alongside the BBC MI5 drama Spooks but the corporation's flagship soap opera EastEnders failed to gain a nomination for the second year in succession in the Continuing Drama category.

In the Entertainment section, double act Ant & Dec will face Stephen Fry, Paul Merton and Paul O'Grady.

The winners will be announced on April 17.

- REUTERS