Bafta award nominees announced

Chat show host Jonathan Ross received his fifth Bafta nomination today for "Friday Night With Jonathan Ross".

Ross, 48, who was suspended last year by the BBC for a lewd radio stunt, was named in the entertainment performance category

Actress June Brown, who has spent some 20 years playing the character Dot Cotton in hit BBC soap opera EastEnders, received her first television Bafta nomination for best actress.

The 82-year-old is the first soap actress to appear in the category since Jean Alexander (Coronation Street) in the late 1980s.

Brown was shortlisted for the January, 2008 solo episode in which she appeared alone.

Other best actress nominees include Andrea Riseborough for her portrayal of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley.

For his portrayal of the eponymous Hancock, Ken Stott, last nominated almost a decade ago, is recognised in the actor category and is up against first-time nominees Jason Isaacs (The Curse of Steptoe), Ben Whishaw (Criminal Justice) and Stephen Dillane (The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall).

Three performers were nominated twice.

Ross Kemp was shortlisted for his documentary series with British troops in Afghanistan and for a current affairs programme on Kenya.

Comedian David Mitchell received nominations for Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look, and Stephen Fry was shortlisted for the QI quiz show and factual programme Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press: The Machine That Made Us.

In the International category, cult hit The Wire received Bafta recognition and was joined by fellow debutants Dexter, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Mad Men.

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Kenneth Branagh received his first nomination as a producer and his sixth overall BAFTA nomination in film and television for Wallander in the drama series category.

The awards will be announced at the Royal Festival Hall on 26 April.