BBC dominates awards shortlist

Great Expectations, starring Ioan Gruffudd, leads the shortlist

BBC costume drama Great Expectations leads the way in the nominations for the first Bafta craft awards - a shortlist dominated by the corporation's productions.

The lavish BBC Two adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, starring Ioan Gruffudd and Charlotte Rampling, has scooped five nominations. They include costume design, sound and photography.

Whilst overall BBC productions - ranging from costume drama and comedy to documentary and natural history programmes - have a total of 25 nominations, compared to 12 for ITV and six for Channel 4.

The awards in seven categories will be handed out by Bafta on 30 April at an event that looks likely to favour period dramas.

ITV's Oliver Twist is the third Dickens classic on the list

As well as Great Expectations - in which Gruffudd plays the adult Pip and Rampling is the bitter Miss Havisham - the BBC version of Wives and Daughters is up for four awards.

The nominations for the BBC One adaptation of the Elizabeth Gaskell novel, starring Francesca Annis and Justine Waddell, include design, photography, make-up/hair.

A second Dickens adaptation from BBC One, David Copperfield, starring Maggie Smith and Ciaran McMenamin, is up for two awards.

While the ITV version of Dickens's Oliver Twist, with Julie Walters and Sam Smith, is up for a Make-up/Hair award.

Modern highlights

The shortlist does also spotlights several contemporary series. ITV's 30-something series Cold Feet, made by Granada, is up for three titles.

The Royle Family has received broad acclaim

Equally, Channel 4's controversial gay drama series Queer As Folk also has three nominations along with the channel's factual series Shangai Vice.

The BBC's hit comedy series The Royle Family, already the major winner at the British Comedy Awards, is competing for an award in the editing category.

Awards night could prove a big success for actor Ioan Gruffudd. As well as Great Expectations, two other dramas starring the 26-year-old Welsh heart-throb are competing for a Bafta in design.

One is the hit ITV drama series Hornblower in which Gruffudd plays the swarthy Captain Horatio.

Walking with Dinosaurs used ground-breaking technology

The other is the hard-hitting two-part BBC drama Warriors which centred on the role of the British contingent of the UN peace keeping force in Bosnia.

Other BBC productions nominated for Baftas include the ground-breaking natural history series Walking with Dinosaurs, Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure and Paddington Green.

The craft awards recognise a number of technical and behind-the-scenes skills, including the roles of editors, designers and sound teams.