Baftas among UK's big TV exports

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal won a Bafta for his role in Brokeback Mountain

The Bafta film awards ceremony was one of the UK's biggest-selling television exports in 2005.

It tied with a wildlife documentary about chimps and Wild Sex, according to figures collated for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Sales of TV exports increased in the US by 10%, while there was an 85% growth in western Europe.

The Apprentice, Agatha Christie's Marple and Midsomer Murders also featured in the top 20.

Cultural differences

Sales of British TV shows around the world make £632m in the last year - an increase of 21%, according to the Producers' Alliance for Cinema and TV (Pact).

Germany, regarded as an important but difficult sales market, registered an increase of 31% last year.

TOP UK TV EXPORTS 2005 1 Baftas/Chimps/Wild Sex 2 Midsomer Murders 3 Wild At Heart 4 American Idols/Idols 5 Naked Science 6 When Hitler Invaded Britain 7 Ancient Egyptians 8 Miss World 9 Brainiac 10 Agatha Christie's Poirot Source: Pact

The increases have been welcomed after a wholescale downturn in UK TV exports in 2004.

The sales market for television formats - ideas for programmes before they have been produced - increased by 60%, bringing in a revenue of £42m in 2005.

Programme formats are considered important in markets where cultural differences make sales of finished products less viable.

British comedies and dramas continued to be the mainstay of the overseas market, while in reality TV, Jamie Oliver's School Dinners was a more popular export than Rock School, which saw Kiss frontman Gene Simmons teach students at an English boarding school how to become rock stars.

North America continues to be a key export market with 40% of sales, but with Europe close behind on 34%.

The success of the Batfa film awards show comes despite falling audiences in the UK, with just three million people tuning into the BBC's coverage in February.