'Gavin and Stacey' sitcom beats heavy hitters at TV Baftas

BRITAIN: CULT BBC3 sitcom Gavin and Stacey and veteran actress Dame Eileen Atkins triumphed in a night of surprises at the TV Baftas in London last night.

James Corden (29), the co-creator of Gavin and Stacey , won the Bafta for best Comedy Performance for his role as Smithy in the surprise hit comedy about a whirlwind romance between a boy from Billericay and a girl from Barry Island. The show also beat big-hitters like The Apprentice, Britain's Got Talent and Strictly Come Dancing to the Audience Award for Programme of the Year, the only gong of the night voted for by the public.

While newcomer Corden emerged as the night's big winner at the glitzy ceremony hosted by Graham Norton, veteran actress Dame Eileen Atkins was awarded her first Bafta, at the age of 73.

She won the battle of the dames to scoop Best Actress for her performance as moral guardian Miss Deborah Jenkyns in the 19th Century period drama Cranford .

Other winners included Harry Hill, who won two Baftas - Entertainment Performance for Harry Hill's TV Burp as well as Entertainment Programme - for the ITV1 show.

Controversially, Paul Watson, the director who hit the headlines last year about whether or not he had filmed the dying moment of Alzheimer's sufferer Malcolm Pointon in his film Malcolm and Barbara , won the Special Award.

Holby City took the battle of the soap category for the first time, while US-born British actor Andrew Garfield (24) won best Actor for his portrayal of a juvenile child killer haunted by his past in Channel 4 drama Boy A .

Other first-time winners included Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares which took the Features category and Channel 4's Fonejacker for the Comedy Programme award.

Strictly Come Dancing host Bruce Forsyth (80) received a Fellowship, the highest accolade the Bafta Academy can award.

- (AP)

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times