Where is Alpha Papa? Sitcom creator Andrew Collins claims British films 'cruelly ignored' at Baftas

The Not Going Out writer says it is a 'travesty' that most winners are foreign

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa has 'escaped the Academy's notice', according to sitcom writer Andrew Collins, who thinks British talent is under-represented at the Baftas (Getty Images)

British films are being "cruelly ignored" at the Baftas, the comedy writer of Not Going Out and Mr Blue Sky has said.

Sitcom creator Andrew Collins, 48, wrote in the Radio Times that it is a "travesty that the bulk of the winners will inevitably be foreign – by which I mean American".

"Aside from two protectionist categories that ring-fence homegrown talent (Outstanding British Film and Outstanding British Debut), our best must battle it out against the vast budgets and promotional might of the Hollywood dream factory," Collins said of the annual British events.

"The studios may hammer out multimillion-dollar comic-book franchise blockbusters for 11 months of the year, but, just in time for prizegiving season, they aggressively market 'awards bait' pictures with no less industrial precision."

He expressed disappointment that UK movies such as Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and The World's End are "missing" from this year’s list of nominations, which includes a host of British talent.

Philomena, starring Judi Dench, Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave and 3D space epic Gravity are three British contenders for the Best Film accolade. Gravity leads the nominations with 11 nods, while 12 Years A Slave, starring Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor, has ten.

Despite the US cast and a Mexican director, the majority of Gravity's crew were from the UK, where the film was shot.

But Collins's rant continued, as the writer bemoaned recent films from Danny Boyle, Roger Michell and Ben Wheatley that have "escaped the Academy's notice".

"Variety called (Wheatley's A Field In England) a 'defiantly unclassifiable cross-genre experiment," said Collins, who is also film editor for the Radio Times. “That, to me, is the kind of film Bafta should be all about: inventive, personal, difficult, sonically arresting, English to its very core and a credit to the nation.”