Channel 4's 'Sex Traffic' and 'Shameless' scoop top honours at Bafta TV awards

Sex Traffic, Channel 4's drama highlighting the trafficking of young women into sexual slavery, was honoured at last night's Bafta awards at the Theatre Royal in central London.

Sex Traffic, Channel 4's drama highlighting the trafficking of young women into sexual slavery, was honoured at last night's Bafta awards at the Theatre Royal in central London.

In her first TV action role, the Romanian actress Anamaria Marinca was named best actress. Marinca, who also won the prize for best actress at the Royal Television Society Awards, played one of two Moldovan sisters smuggled through eastern Europe to London, betrayed by pimps, police and politicians along the way. She beat Brenda Blethyn and the Shameless star Anne-Marie Duff.

"I felt it was important to tell this story and it was necessary, especially as I am from a country that deals with such problems," Marinca said.

Little Britain was named best comedy series for the second time. The BBC3 comedy also won a prize in 2003. Matt Lucas and David Walliams, who created the BBC3 comedy based on a Radio 4 series, won the award for best comedy performance. The series was so successful it was transferred to BBC2 and then BBC1. It beat competition from Harry Hill, Mark Steel and Catherine Tate.

Shameless, Channel 4's drama about the dysfunctional Gallagher family, who live on a sink estate in Manchester, added the award for best drama series to a growing list of accolades.

Rhys Ifans, the star of Notting Hill and Enduring Love, was named best actor for his role as Peter Cook in Not Only But Always about the comic's love-hate relationship with Dudley Moore.

Paul O'Grady, whose ITV1 chat show has been a success story for the channel won the award for best entertainment performance. I'm A Celebrity ... won the Lew Grade award for best entertainment programme, triumphing over the BBC1 hit Strictly Come Dancing.

Omagh, Channel 4's drama about the Real IRA bomb that killed 29 people in 1998, was declared best single drama. It was the second award in a week for the star of the show, Gerard McSorley, who won best actor at the Broadcasting Press Guild Award on Friday

It was also the second award of the week for Gordon Ramsay for his Channel 4 series Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

Sir David Frost was presented with an academy fellowship. It was the second Bafta for the veteran presenter, who won the Richard Dimbleby award for the year's most important contribution on screen to factual television in 1967. This year's award went to the Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow. Michael Palin was presented with a special award, his third Bafta.

James Miller, the British film-maker shot by the Israeli army, was remembered in the award for current affairs for the film Death In Gaza. The BBC's Ten O'Clock News won the award for best news coverage for the 2004 Madrid bombing.

The winners

• Best actor - Rhys Ifans, Not Only But Always (Channel 4)
• Best actress - Anamaria Marinca, Sex Traffic (Channel 4)
• Best entertainment performance - Paul O'Grady, The Paul O'Grady Show (ITV1)
• Best comedy performance - Matt Lucas and David Walliams, Little Britain (BBC3)
• Best news coverage - BBC Ten O'Clock News, Madrid Bombing (BBC1)
• Best current affairs - Death In Gaza, James Miller, Saira Shah (Channel 4)
• Best single documentary - The Orphans of Nkandla (BBC4)
• Best sport - Olympic 2004 (Matthew Pinsent's Rowing for Gold - BBC1)
• Best single drama - Omagh (Channel 4)
• Best drama series - Shameless (Channel 4)
• Best drama serial - Sex Traffic (Channel 4)
• Best continuing drama - Coronation Street (ITV1)
• Best situation comedy - Black Books (Channel 4)
• Best factual series - The Power of Nightmares (BBC2)
• Best specialist factual - Dunkirk (BBC2)
• Best feature - Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (Channel 4)
• Best entertainment programme - I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here (BBC1)
• Best comedy programme - Little Britain (BBC3)
• Pioneer award - Green Wing (Channel 4)
• Academy fellowship - Sir David Frost
• Special award - Michael Palin
• Richard Dimbleby award - Jon Snow