The BBC period drama Cranford, and its prolific star Dame Judi Dench, dominated today’s Bafta TV award nominations.

The 1840s-set show picked up three nominations, one for Programme of the Year, and two for best actress. Dame Judi, racking up her 24th Bafta nomination, will compete against her co-star Dame Eileen Atkins for the prestigious prize.

The actresses, who are both 73, will go up against previous Bafta winner Gina McKee for The Street, and Kierston Wareing for It's A Free World.

Tim Corrie, deputy chair of the Bafta TV committee, said it would be a compelling battle: "It's very interesting to see that two grand Dames of acting are going up against each other."

But in the Best Actor category, it was newcomers that dominated. All four contenders are first time Bafta nominees. Andrew Garfield, lauded for his performance in the Channel 4 film Boy A, is up against Tom Hardy for the critically-acclaimed Stuart: A Life Backwards, Matthew Macfadyen for his role as a sex offender in Secret Life, and Antony Sher for the Auschwitz-set Primo.

In the Entertainment Programme category, Britain’s Got Talent – the show that turned opera singer Paul Potts from a supermarket worker to a national hero – received a nod, along with the three-times-nominated Strictly Come Dancing. The high-rating reality shows will compete against Have I Got News for You and Harry Hill's TV Burp.

The oft-nominated Coronation Street was left off this year’s list of Continuing Drama contenders, with The Bill, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Holby City competing for the award.

Life on Mars, the show that made DCI Gene Hunt a national obsession, will compete for the Drama Series gong, alongside the teenage-focused Skins, the epic drama Rome and last year’s winner The Street.

Men dominated both the Entertainment Performance and Comedy Performance categories. In the former, Simon Amstell was nominated for the ever-popular Never Mind The Buzzcocks, as were Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins for The Friday Night Project, Stephen Fry for QI and Harry Hill for Harry Hill’s TV Burp.

Comedy Performance competitors are Peter Capaldi, for The Thick of It, Stephen Merchant for Extras Christmas Special, David Mitchell for Peep Show and James Corden for Gavin and Stacey. It’s Corden’s second triumph in as many weeks, after NBC announced it would buy the rights to a US version of the popular comedy.

Ant & Dec, who were were crowned most popular entertainment presenters at the National Television Awards in November, l were overlooked by the Academy, as was perennial favourite Jonathan Ross.

Tim Corrie said of the absences: "There are new people coming up all the time. It's good to see Bafta reflecting the ringing of changes.

"If you look at the acting awards the new are coming up against the others."

As a single channel, Channel 4 can count itself victorious, receiving the most nominations (23), followed by BBC1 (20) and ITV1 (12).

The awards ceremony will be held at the London Palladium on April 20.

FULL LIST OF BAFTA NOMINEES

ACTOR

Andrew Garfield, Boy A, Channel 4

Tom Hardy,Stuart: A Life Backwards, BBC2

Matthew Macfadyen, Secret Life, Channel 4

Antony Sher, Primo, BBC4

ACTRESS

Eileen Atkins, Cranford, BBC1

Judi Dench, Cranford,BBC1

Gina McKee,The Street, BBC1

Kierston Wareing, It's A Free World,Channel 4

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE

Simon Amstell, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, BBC2

Alan Carr & Justin Lee Collins, The Friday Night Project, Channel 4

Stephen Fry, QI, BBC2

Harry Hill,Harry Hill's TV Burp, ITV1

COMEDY PERFORMANCE

Peter Capaldi, The Thick of It, BBC4

James Corden, Gavin and Stacey, BBC3

Stephen Merchant, Extras Christmas Special, BBC1

David Mitchell, Peep Show, Channel 4

SINGLE DRAMA

Boy A, Channel 4

Coming Down The Mountain, BBC1

The Mark Of Cain, Channel 4

The Trial of Tony Blair, More 4

DRAMA SERIES

Life on Mars, BBC1

Rome, BBC2

Skins, E4

The Street, BBC1

DRAMA SERIAL

Britz, Channel 4

Cranford, BBC1

Five Days, BBC1

Murphy's Law, BBC1

CONTINUING DRAMA

The Bill, ITV1

EastEnders, BBC1

Emmerdale, ITV1

Holby City, BBC1

INTERNATIONAL

Californication, Five/Paramount

Family Guy, BBC3/20th Century Fox

Heroes, BBC2/SCI FI Channel/NBC Universal Television

My Name Is Earl, Channel 4/Twentieth Century Fox

FACTUAL SERIES

Meet The Natives, Channel 4

Paul Merton in China, Five

Tribe, BBC2

The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities, BBC1

SPECIALIST FACTUAL

Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain, BBC2

Earth: The Power of the Planet, BBC2

The Genius of Photography, BBC4

The Relief of Belsen, Channel 4

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY

Beautiful Young Minds, BBC2

Lie of the Land, Channel 4

Malcolm and Barbara: Love's Farewell, ITV1

Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives, BBC4

FEATURES

Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection, BBC2

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, Channel 4

The Secret Millionaire, Channel 4

Top Gear, BBC2

CURRENT AFFAIRS

China's Stolen Children - A Dispatches Special, Channel 4

Dispatches - Fighting The Taliban, Channel 4

Honour Kills, BBC3

Panorama: Dog-Fighting Undercover, BBC1

NEWS COVERAGE

BBC Ten O'Clock News: War in Afghanistan, BBC1

Channel 4 News: Iraq-The Surge, Channel 4

ITV Evening News: Zimbabwe - The Tyranny and the Tragedy, ITV1

Sky News - Glasgow Airport Attack, Sky News

SPORT

Boat Race, ITV1

ITV F1: Canadian Grand Prix Live, ITV1

Rugby World Cup 2007: England V France Semi-Final, ITV1

Wimbledon - The Men's Final, BBC1

INTERACTIVITY

Big Art Mob, Channel 4

Doctor Who Comic Maker, BBC1

Spooks Interactive, BBC.co.uk

The X Factor, ITV1

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME

Britain's Got Talent, ITV1

Harry Hill's TV Burp, ITV1

Have I Got News For You, BBC1

Strictly Come Dancing, BBC1

COMEDY PROGRAMME

The Armstrong & Miller Show, BBC1

Fonejacker, Channel 4

Russell Brand's Ponderland, Channel 4

Star Stories, Channel 4

SITUATION COMEDY

Benidorm, ITV1

The IT Crowd, Channel 4

Peep Show, Channel 4

The Thick of It, BBC4

Sky+ AUDIENCE AWARD for the Programme of the Year

The Apprentice

Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

Britain's Got Talent

Cranford

Gavin & Stacey

Strictly Come Dancing

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