Winslet nominated twice for Leading Actress Bafta

Double Golden Globe winner Kate Winslet was nominated twice today for a Leading Actress Bafta.

'Slumdog Millionaire', which has also taken Hollywood by storm, received 11 nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards.

The nominations pit teenage newcomer Dev Patel against veteran actors like Mickey Rourke as Leading Actor, following Rourke’s comeback success in 'The Wrestler'.

2009 is turning out to be Winslet’s year. Despite critical acclaim for many of her roles, the star has not previously had a great track record when when it comes to taking home awards, though she won a Supporting Actress Bafta for 'Sense and Sensibility' in 1995.

Winslet is up for leading actress for playing a former concentration camp guard in 'The Reader' and her role in 'Revolutionary Road', which reunited her with 'Titanic' co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.

As well as facing stiff competition from herself in the Leading Actress category, Winslet is also up against Angelina Jolie for 'Changeling', Kristin Scott Thomas for 'I’ve Loved You So Long' and Meryl Streep for 'Doubt'.

Streep won a Leading Actress Bafta in 1981 for 'The French Lieutenant’s Woman'.

Earlier this week Winslet, 33, gave a gushing speech as she picked up two gongs at the Golden Globes, saying she had “a habit of not winning things”.

She apologised to other nominees and on being told to wrap up her emotional speech, she replied: “You have no idea how much I’m not wrapping up.”

Though Winslet has been nominated as leading actress for 'The Reader', it was a Supporting Actress gong that she won for the role at the Globes.

'Slumdog Millionaire', the story of how Indian teen Jamal Malik became a contestant on the Hindi version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' took home four trophies at the Golden Globes and it also went down a storm at the recent Critics’ Choice Awards.

The film was also nominated in the Bafta categories Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound and Outstanding British Film.

Danny Boyle was nominated for Director, up against Clint Eastwood for 'Changeling' among others, and Freida Pinto received a nomination as Supporting Actress.

The nominations were read out today by 'The Duchess' actress Hayley Atwell and Bond girl Gemma Arterton at Bafta’s headquarters in London.

Jonathan Ross will present the awards ceremony next month, a fortnight after the BBC lifts his suspension over the Andrew Sachs lewd phone calls row.

Ross used his page on the social networking website Twitter to invite public suggestions for an unlikely word he could incorporate into his Bafta routine.

He wrote: “Thanks for Bafta suggestions. Will whittle them down to a top three then slip one in.”

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' also received 11 Bafta nominations, putting it at level pegging with Slumdog.

'The Dark Knight' had nine nominations and 'Changeling' had eight.

'Frost/Nixon' received six nominations, 'The Reader' had five and 'In Bruges', 'Milk' and 'Revolutionary Road' all had four each.

Battling it out for Best Film are 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'Frost/Nixon', 'Milk' and 'The Reader'.

In the Outstanding British Film category are the award-winning 'Hunger' which documents the life of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, 'In Bruges', 'Mamma Mia!' - which recently became the highest-grossing film in the UK, and 'Man On Wire' as well as Slumdog.

Also with Patel and Rourke in the Leading Actor category are Frank Langella for 'Frost/Nixon', Sean Penn for 'Milk' and Brad Pitt for 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'.

Pitt was a double nominee, also in the Supporting Actor category for 'Burn After Reading'.

The late Heath Ledger was also nominated for Supporting Actor for 'The Dark Knight'.

And Wallace and Gromit film 'A Matter of Loaf and Death', which was screened on the BBC over Christmas, is in the running for a Bafta in the Short Animation category.

The BBC announced yesterday this year’s Baftas at London’s Royal Opera House on February 8 will be shown across three TV channels for the first time.