'Brass Eye' satire on paedophilia is nominated for best comedy Bafta

Channel 4's Brass Eye programme about paedophiles has been nominated for Best Comedy show at the British Academy Television Awards.

Hundreds of viewers complained when the spoof documentary, presented by Chris Morris, was aired last July. Channel 4 repeated it and was later forced to broadcast an apology. The show faces competition at the TV Baftas fromBremner, Bird and Fortune, The Kumars at No 42 and The Sketch Show. It has also been nominated for Innovation, alongside David Attenborough's The Blue Planet and the betting show Banzai.

Pop Idol has been nominated as Entertainment programme, against Have I Got News For You, Parkinson and Room 101. Its hosts, Ant and Dec, are also up for Entertainment Performance and face competition from John Bird and John Fortune for Bremner, Bird and Fortune, Paul Merton for Have I Got News For You and last year's winner, Graham Norton, for So Graham Norton.

Emmerdale, which won Best Soap last year, has not even made the shortlist this time. Instead EastEnders, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and Doctors have been nominated.

The Office, starring Ricky Gervais, has picked up two nominations, for Situation Comedy and for Comedy performance, in which Gervais will compete with Joanna Lumley for Absolutely Fabulous.

Michael Gambon, Alan Bates, Timothy Spall and David Suchet are up for Best Actor, while Best Actress will go to Lindsay Duncan, Sheila Hancock, Lesley Sharp or Julie Walters. In the Drama series category, last year's winner, Clocking Off, is nominated again, alongside At Home With The Braithwaites, Cold Feet and Tales From The Pleasure Beach. The awards will be held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London on 21 April.