Stars do battle for TV Baftas

Julie Walters, John Hurt and Helena Bonham Carter will battle it out at the TV Baftas today after being nominated for their portrayals of real-life people.

Hurt is in the running at the glitzy annual event for reprising the role of Quentin Crisp - 34 years after he received the award for playing the flamboyant gay writer in 'The Naked Civil Servant'.

Hurt, 70, is up for Leading Actor, up against Kenneth Branagh for 'Wallander', Brendan Gleeson for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in 'Into The Storm' (BBC2) and first-time nominee David Oyelowo for his performance in 'Small Island' (BBC1).

Hurt made his reputation and caused a sensation when he took on the role of the eccentric Crisp in 'The Naked Civil Servant' in 1975. He took up the part again for 'An Englishman In New York' (ITV1) last year.

The Philips British Academy Television Awards will be hosted by Graham Norton from the London Palladium tonight.

The ceremony will also see Walters clock up her 13th and 14th Bafta nominations - with two nods in the Leading Actress category.

She is in the running for her role as the late politician Mo Mowlam in the Channel 4 drama 'Mo', and for her performance in 'A Short Stay in Switzerland', the BBC1 drama inspired by the story of Dr Anne Turner, who took her own life in Zurich in 2006.

Walters is up against Bonham Carter, who received her first Bafta TV nomination for her performance as children's author Enid Blyton in the BBC1 drama 'Enid'.

Sophie Okonedo is also in the running for her powerful performance as Winnie Mandela in the BBC4 drama 'Mrs Mandela'.

Okonedo also has a nomination in the Supporting Actress category for 'Criminal Justice' (BBC1), where she is up against Imelda Staunton ('Cranford'), Rebecca Hall ('Red Riding 1974') and Lauren Socha ('The Unloved').

Okonedo said of her double nomination previously: "I feel very grateful. Both these jobs were the favourite things I have done in the last few years. It's so lovely to get nominated for both of them."

In other categories, 'Britain's Got Talent' is in the running for best Entertainment Programme, up against 'The Graham Norton Show' (BBC1), which is nominated for the first time, 'Harry Hill's TV Burp' (ITV1) and 'Newswipe with Charlie Brooker' (BBC4).

In the Continuing Drama section, 'Coronation Street' returns after two years, alongside The Bill, which has been nominated in its final year, 'Casualty' and 'EastEnders'.

In the International category, last year's winner 'Mad Men' (BBC4) returns to take on animated comedy series 'Family Guy' (BBC3), 'Nurse Jackie' (BBC2) and 'True Blood' (FX).

Rebecca Front is nominated in the Female Performance in a Comedy Programme category for her role as ineffectual MP Nicola Murray in 'The Thick Of It', which is also up for best Situation Comedy.

Peter Capaldi, the man who plays Nicola's bullying and foul-mouthed nemesis, spin doctor Malcolm Tucker, is up for the Male Performance category.

In terms of nominations, David Mitchell, Harry Hill, Miranda Hart as well as Okonedo lead the field with two nominations each.

Mitchell has a nod for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for 'Peep Show' while his other show, 'That Mitchell And Webb Look', is up for best Comedy Programme.

Hill has a nod for best Entertainment Performance for 'Harry Hill's TV Burp' while the show is also up for Entertainment Programme.

Hart is nominated for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her role in BBC2 drama Miranda, while her show is also up for best Situation Comedy.

First-time nominee Michael McIntyre takes on Ant and Dec and Stephen Fry as well as Hill in the Entertainment Performance category.

Bookies William Hill has made Britain's Got Talent its 13/8 favourite to win the Best Entertainment Bafta.

Ant and Dec are seen as 10/3 outsiders for best Entertainment Performance - with first-timer McIntyre the favourite at 7/4.

"The 'X Factor' won best Entertainment Programme last year and the money suggest Cowell and co will win with BGT this year," said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams.

This year, the BBC has 54 nominations, ITV has 12, Channel 4 has 23 - including three for E4, but Five and More4 do not have a single nomination.

'Heston's Feasts' is up for best Features programme, against 'The Choir: Unsung Town', which featured an attempt to turn a housing estate into a centre of choral excellence, James May's 'Toy Story', and 'Masterchef: The Professionals'.

Athletics in the form of the 'World Athletics Championships' (BBC2) has been nominated for the first time in the Sport category, with the BBC's F1 - 'The Brazilian Grand Prix' and 'World Athletics Championship' up against ITV's 'Chelsea vs Everton FA Cup Final' and 'Liverpool vs Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Live'.