‘Girls,’ ‘Homeland,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ Nominated for BAFTA International TV Award

LONDON – Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow’s New York comedy-drama Girls will hope to add to its assorted plaudits with a win in the international program category at this year’s Arqiva British Academy Television Awards, dished out by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) on May 12. 

But to add an Arqiva British Academy TV trophy to its Royal Television Society award received in March, along with its earlier Golden Globe win, Girls will have to see off strong competition in the international category from the CIA thriller Homeland, fantasy epic Games of Thrones and Danish/Swedish crime drama The Bridge.

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This year’s TV awards reflect a tumultuous and event-driven year for the small screen in the U.K.

Coverage of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics dominates this year’s sport and live event category. Coverage of the BBC’s so-called Super Saturday — when the U.K. won three gold medals in the space of an hour — will face off against the Danny Boyle-directed opening ceremony, the Paralympic Games and the Wimbledon 2012 Men’s Final.

And the Jimmy Savile scandal that rocked the BBC to its core features in the nominations for current affairs, with the nomination of ITV’s The Other Side of Jimmy Savile (Exposure).

A Panorama Special Britain’s Hidden Housing Crisis, Al Jazeera’s investigation into What Killed Arafat? and The Shame of the Catholic Church from BBC Two’s This World strand complete the current affairs nominations.

Programs The Girl and Last Tango in Halifax have four nominations apiece, and compete with each other in three performance categories.

Leading actor Toby Jones, leading actress Sienna Miller and supporting actress Imelda Staunton are all nominated for their turns in The Girl.

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They take on leading actor Derek Jacobi, leading actress Anne Reid and supporting actress Sarah Lancashire from Last Tango in Halifax.

Ben Whishaw is nominated for leading actor for his performance as Richard II in the Hollow Crown series of adaptations of Shakespeare’s history plays, while Sean Bean rounds out the quartet for his turn in The Accused (Tracie’s Story).

Miller and Reid compete with Rebecca Hall for her outing in Parade’s End and Sheridan Smith for her portrayal as the eponymous Mrs Biggs in the leading actress category.

Actress Olivia Colman is nominated in two categories with a supporting actress nomination for her performance as Sue in another installment of The Accused (Mo’s Story) and in the female comedy performance category for the London Olympics satire Twenty Twelve.

Colman, Staunton and Lancashire will have to beat Anastasia Hille (The Fear) to the podium in the best supporting actress category.

And should Colman win the best female comedy turn, she’ll have to overcome fellow Twenty Twelve cast member Jessica Hynes, Julia Davies (Hunderby) and Miranda Hart (Miranda).

Peter Capaldi is also nominated twice in the supporting actor category for The Hour and in male performance in a comedy program for The Thick of It, which is also nominated for situation comedy.

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Capaldi competes with Stephen Graham (Accused — Tracie’s Story), Harry Lloyd (The Fear) and Simon Russell Beale (Henry IV Part 2 — The Hollow Crown) in the supporting actor category.

Crunching the numbers, the BBC’s flagship channel BBC One emerges with 22 nominations, beaten only by the BBC 2 with 26. Commercial broadcaster ITV garners 10 nominations, behind a healthy 16 for Channel 4.

Sky Atlantic, pay-TV satellite operator BSkyB’s flagship channel for U.S. programming picks up six nominations for its programming while Sky One scores one.

BBC Three and BBC Four pick up three apiece, while E4, Channel 4’s youth channel, secures a pair of nominations.

Al Jazeera and Watch both join Sky One with one.

The awards will be dished out May 12 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, hosted by Graham Norton, himself nominated in the entertainment performance category for his late night BBC one chat show The Graham Norton Show.

The separate British Academy Television Craft Awards take place two weeks earlier on April 28.

Combining the nominations from the Television and Television Craft Awards, The Girl leads the pack with a total of eight nominations.

Parade’s End comes a close second with seven nominations; Accused has six nominations; and The Hour, Last Tango in Halifax, Ripper Street and Twenty Twelve have five nominations each.

 

Full nominations:

 

LEADING ACTOR

Ben Whishaw, Richard II (The Hollow Crown)

Derek Jacobi, Last Tango In Halifax

Sean Bean, Accused (Tracie’s Story)

Toby Jones, The Girl

 

LEADING ACTRESS

Anne Reid, Last Tango In Halifax

Rebecca Hall, Parade’s End

Sheridan Smith, Mrs Biggs

Sienna Miller, The Girl

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Peter Capaldi, The Hour

Stephen Graham, Accused (Tracie’s Story)

Harry Lloyd, The Fear

Simon Russell Beale, Henry IV Part 2 (The Hollow Crown)

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anastasia Hille, The Fear

Imelda Staunton, The Girl

Olivia Colman, Accused (Mo’s Story)

Sarah Lancashire, Last Tango In Halifax

 

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE

Alan Carr, Alan Carr: Chatty Man

Ant and Dec, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show

Sarah Millican, The Sarah Millican Show

 

FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM

Jessica Hynes, Twenty Twelve

Julia Davis, Hunderby

Miranda Hart, Miranda

Olivia Colman, Twenty Twelve

 

MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAM

Greg Davies, Cuckoo

Hugh Bonneville, Twenty Twelve

PeterCapaldi, The Thick Of It

Steve Coogan, Welcome To The Places Of My Life

 

SINGLE DRAMA?

Everyday, Revolution Films/Channel 4

The Girl, Wall to Wall/BBC Two

Murder, Touchpaper TV/BBC Two

Richard II(Hollow Crown), Neal Street Productions co-production with NBC Universal and WNET Thirteen/BBC Two

 

 

MINI-SERIES

Accused, RSJ Films/BBC One

Mrs Biggs, ITV Studios/ITV?

Parade’s End, Mammoth Screen/BBC Two

Room At The Top, Great Meadow Productions/BBC Four

 

DRAMA SERIES

Last Tango In Halifax, Red Production Company/BBC One

Ripper Street, Tiger Aspect Productions/BBC One

Scott And Bailey, Red Production Company/ITV

Silk, BBC Productions/BBC One

 

SOAP & CONTINUING DRAMA

Coronation Street?

EastEnders

Emmerdale

Shameless

 

INTERNATIONAL

The Bridge

Game of Thrones

Girls

Homeland

 

FACTUAL SERIES

24 Hours In A&E, Garden Productions/Channel 4

Great Ormond Street, Films of Record/BBC Two

Make Bradford British, Love Productions/Channel 4

Our War, BBC Productions/BBC Three

 

SPECIALIST FACTUAL

All In The Best Possible Taste With Grayson Perry, Seneca Productions/Channel 4

The Plane Crash, Dragonfly Productions, MAP TV/Channel 4

The Plot To Bring Down Britain’s Planes, Raw TV/Channel 4

The Secret History Of Our Streets, Century Films, Halcyons Heart Films/BBC Two

 

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY

7/7: One Day In London, Minnow Films/BBC Two

Baka: A Cry From The Rainforest, River Films/BBC Two

Lucian Freud: Painted Life, Blakeway Productions/BBC Two

Nina Conti – A Ventriloquist’s Story: Her Master’s Voice, Nina Conti in association with the BBC/BBC Four

 

FEATURES

Bank Of Dave, Finestripe Productions/Channel 4

Grand Designs, Boundless/Channel 4

The Great British Bake Off, Love Productions/BBC Two

Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs, Shiver/ITV

 

REALITY & CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL

The Audience, The Garden Productions/Channel 4

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, ITV Studios/ITV

Made In Chelsea, Monkey Kingdom/E4

The Young Apprentice, Boundless Productions/BBC One

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Britain’s Hidden Housing Crisis(Panorama Special), Genie Pictures Ltd/BBC One

The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile(Exposure), ITV Studios/ITV

The Shame Of The Catholic Church(This World), BBC Northern Ireland/BBC Two

What Killed Arafat?(Al Jazeera Investigates), Al Jazeera English/Al Jazeera English

 

NEWS COVERAGE

BBC News At Ten: Syria, BBC News/BBC One & BBC News Channel

Channel 4 News: Battle For Homs, ITN/Channel 4

Hillsborough – The Truth At Last(Granada Reports), ITV Granada/ITV

 

SPORT & LIVE EVENT

The London 2012 Olympics: Super Saturday, BBC Sport/BBC One?

The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isle Of Wonder, Done & Dusted/BBC One

The London 2012 Paralympic Games, Sunset & Vine, IMG/Channel 4

Wimbledon 2012 – Men’s Final, BBC Sport/BBC One

 

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM

Dynamo Magician Impossible, Phil McIntyre Entertainment, Inner Circle Films/Watch

The Graham Norton Show, So Television/BBC One

Have I Got News For You, Hat Trick Productions/BBC One

A League Of Their Own, CPL Productions/Sky One

 

COMEDY PROGRAM

Cardinal Burns, Left Bank Pictures/E4

Mr Stink, BBC Productions in association with Bert Productions/BBC One

The Revolution Will Be Televised, Hat Trick Productions/BBC Three

Welcome To The Places Of My Life, Baby Cow/Sky Atlantic

 

SITUATION COMEDY

Episodes, Hat Trick Productions/BBC Two

Hunderby, Baby Cow/Sky Atlantic?

The Thick Of It, BBC Productions/BBC Two?

Twenty Twelve, BBC Productions/BBC Two