Moors murders head the Bafta shortlist

Channel 4's Longford, starring Samantha Morton as killer Myra Hindley and Jim Broadbent as the Labour peer who battled to free her, leads the field in four categories in British TV's equivalent of the Oscars.

Gallery: See the nominations here

It is shortlisted for best single drama, best actress for Morton and best actor for Broadbent and Andy Serkis, who played Ian Brady.

Meanwhile, ITV's rival Moors murders drama, See No Evil - starring Maxine Peake as Hindley - is nominated for best drama serial.

Both programmes sparked controversy. Winnie Johnson, mother of Moors murder victim Keith Bennett, branded Longford "disgusting". But Morton said: "I believe it is my duty as a performer to raise issues we're afraid to look at."

Meanwhile, BBC1's drama series Life On Mars - which ended last night - has received the critical plaudits its popularity demanded. The show, which saw 21st-century detective Sam Tyler travel back in time to 1973, has been nominated for three Bafta TV awards.

It is shortlisted for best drama, best actor for John Simm - who played Tyler - as well as the "audience award".

The drama's first series was screened too late last year to be eligible for a Bafta and its only high-profile accolade so far has been an International Emmy.

Michael Sheen's portrayal of comic actor Kenneth Williams in BBC4's Fantabulosa! wins him a best actor nomination. Anne-Marie Duff 's role as Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen scores her a best actress nomination. Also shortlisted in the category are Ruth Wilson, 24, for BBC1's adaptation of Jane Eyre, andVictoria Wood, with a record 12th Bafta nomination for ITV1's Housewife 49.

Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will go head-to-head for best comedy performance for BBC show Extras. Sir Alan Sugar will battle it out with Gordon Ramsay in the best features category, with The Apprentice and The F-Word both nominated.

Overall Channel 4 can boast the most nominations with 20, closely followed by BBC1 with 18. BBC2 has 14 and ITV1 13. The British Academy Television Awards will be held at the London Palladium on 20 May.

The Bafta television nominations

BEST ACTOR
Jim Broadbent, Longford, Channel 4
Andy Serkis, Longford, Channel 4
Michael Sheen, Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!, BBC4
John Simm, Life On Mars, BBC1

BEST ACTRESS
Anne-Marie Duff, The Virgin Queen, BBC1
Samantha Morton, Longford, Channel 4
Ruth Wilson, Jane Eyre, BBC1
Victoria Wood, Housewife 49, ITV1

BEST ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE
Ant & Dec, Saturday Night Takeaway, ITV1
Stephen Fry, QI, BBC2
Paul Merton, Have I Got News For You, BBC1
Jonathan Ross, Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, BBC1

BEST COMEDY PERFORMANCE
Dawn French, The Vicar of Dibley, BBC1
Ricky Gervais, Extras, BBC2
Stephen Merchant, Extras, BBC2
Liz Smith, The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba, BBC1

SINGLE DRAMA
Housewife 49
Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!
Longford
Road To Guantanamo

DRAMA SERIES
Life on Mars
Shameless
Sugar Rush
The Street

DRAMA SERIAL
Low Winter Sun
Prime Suspect: The Final Act
See No Evil: The Moors Murders
The Virgin Queen

CONTINUING DRAMA
Casualty
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale

FACTUAL SERIES
Ross Kemp on Gangs
Stephen Fry – The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive
Tribe
Who Do You Think You Are?

SPECIALIST FACTUAL
Munich: Mossad's Revenge
Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand
Planet Earth
Simon Schama's Power of Art

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY
Breaking Up With the Joneses
Evicted
9/11: The Falling Man
Rain In My Heart

FEATURES
The Apprentice
The Choir
Dragons' Den
The F Word

SPORT
The Boat Race
F1: Hungarian Grand Prix – Jenson Button's First Win
Cricket on Five
Winter Olympics

NEWS COVERAGE
BBC Ten O'Clock News – Terrorism plot at Heathrow
Channel 4 News – News From Iran
Granada Reports: Morecambe Bay
ITV Evening News – The Israel/Lebanon Crisis

INTERACTIVITY
Dispatches – War Torn: Stories of Separation
Meltdown and the Big Climate Change Experiment
The Secret Policeman's Ball
Terry Pratchett's Hogfather

INTERNATIONAL
Entourage
House
Lost
My Name is Earl

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
Dancing on Ice
Derren Brown: The Heist
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?
The X Factor

SITUATION COMEDY
Green Wing
The IT Crowd
Pulling
The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba

COMEDY PROGRAMME
The Catherine Tate Show
Little Britain Abroad
Little Miss Jocelyn
That Mitchell & Webb Look

Pioneer Audience Award
Life On Mars
The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba
Dragons' Den
The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special
Planet Earth
Celebrity Big Brother