There’s award shows and there’s awards shows and, as they go, the BAFTA Television Awards are pretty darn good. Our host for this year is the versatile and always-entertaining Graham Norton, and he’ll guide us through twenty-three awards, from Best Actor to Best Sports Programme. I’m always ready to put my (virtual) money where my mouth is, so I thought I’d make a prediction for each category – and let you know who we’re backing, too. The awards will be broadcast this Sunday, 20th April, at 8pm on BBC One.

Best actor
Andrew Garfield – Boy A (Channel 4)
Tom Hardy – Stuart: A Life Backwards (BBC Two)
Matthew Macfadyen – Secret Life (Channel 4)
Antony Sher – Primo (BBC Four)
Here at TVScoop we were very impressed with Channel 4′s Boy A, and we’d love to see Andrew Garfield win, but I’ve a feeling that BAFTA will go with the heavyweight, Antony Sher.

Best actress
Eileen Atkins – Cranford (BBC One)
Judi Dench – Cranford (BBC One)
Gina McKee – The Street (BBC One
Kierston Wareing – It’s A Free World (Channel 4)
I think that this will be a battle of the Cranford ladies, and quite right too. I’d love to see Eileen Atkins get the recognition she so deserves, but BAFTA might go for Dame Judi as she was in the whole series.

Best entertainment performance
Simon Amstell – Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC Two)
Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins – The Friday Night Project (Channel 4)
Stephen Fry – QI (BBC Two)
Harry Hill – Harry Hill’s TV Burp (ITV1)
For just how much impact he has had on a failing show, I’d like Simon Amstell to win this category, but no-one’s going to begrudge Harry Hill getting the nod, as I believe he will.

Best comedy performance
Peter Capaldi – The Thick of It (BBC Four)
James Corden – Gavin and Stacey (BBC Three)
Stephen Merchant – Extras Christmas special (BBC One)
David Mitchell – Peep Show (Channel 4)
Tough one this. BAFTA may try and make up for the fact that Gavin and Stacey isn’t nominated for best Situation Comedy by giving this award to Corden, but I’ve a feeling David Mitchell might win. I’d be happy with either.

Best single drama
Boy A (Channel 4)
Coming Down The Mountain (BBC One)
The Mark Of Cain (Channel 4)
The Trial of Tony Blair (More 4)
This is a very strong category, but I think Channel 4′s shows Boy A and Mark Of Cain will be fighting it out for the award. We were impressed with Boy A, but I think The Mark Of Cain might get it.

Best drama serial
Britz (Channel 4)
Cranford (BBC One)
Five Days (BBC One)
Murphy’s Law (BBC One)
Another strong category, and in any other year, I think Britz might have won the award. But Cranford was just sublime, and I’m sure that BAFTA will give it the recognition it so thoroughly deserves.

Best drama series
Life on Mars (BBC One)
Rome (BBC Two)
Skins (E4)
The Street (BBC One)
The big controversy of last year’s TV BAFTAS was the fact that Life On Mars missed out in all the awards it had been nominated for – apart from the Audience Award. I really hope that they rectify their omission this time round, and believe they will.

Best continuing drama
The Bill (ITV1)
EastEnders (BBC One)
Emmerdale (ITV1)
Holby City (BBC One)
2007 was the year that I stopped watching Eastenders… it wasn’t even a conscious choice, it just sort of happened. As such, I no longer watch any of the nominated soaps and so can’t really have an opinion. What do you guys think?

Best factual series
Meet The Natives (Channel 4)
Paul Merton in China (Five)
Tribe (BBC Two)
The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities (BBC One)
This is another category where any nominated show could win and no-one could really grumble. I’ve a feeling Tribe might win, but I was always entertained by Paul Merton’s very personal look at China.

Best entertainment programme
Britain’s Got Talent (ITV1)
Harry Hill’s TV Burp (ITV1)
Have I Got News For You (BBC One)
Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One)
If Harry Hill doesn’t win the award for Best Entertainment Programme, then he’ll definitely win this, but then I wouldn’t bet against him going home with two BAFTA masks, either. While I adore Harry Hill’s TV Burp, I would love to see Strictly Come Dancing win.

Best situation comedy
Benidorm (ITV1)
The IT Crowd (Channel 4)
Peep Show (Channel 4)
The Thick of It (BBC Four)
BAFTA might want to acknowledge The Thick Of It now that it has finished, but my money’s on Peep Show. It was patchy, but always enjoyable.

Best comedy programme
The Armstrong & Miller Show (BBC One)
Fonejacker (Channel 4)
Russell Brand’s Ponderland (Channel 4)
Star Stories (Channel 4)
I would have thought we can discount Fonejacker and Star Stories, although the latter does have its fans. Personally, I was pleasantly surprised by just how good The Armstrong and Miller Show was, and it would certainly deserve its award if it won.

Audience award
The Apprentice (BBC Two)
Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain (BBC Two)
Britain’s Got Talent (ITV1)
Cranford (BBC One)
Gavin & Stacey (BBC Three)
Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One)
What a fabulously strong category for the audience to get their teeth into this year! All are at the very top of their respective genres, and therefore all deserve to win, it just depends on how we decide to vote. Mine will be going to Cranford, but I’d be just as happy to see Strictly Come Dancing or The Apprentice get the nod.

Best single documentary
Beautiful Young Minds (BBC Two)
Lie of the Land (Channel 4)
Malcolm and Barbara: Love’s Farewell (ITV1)
Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives (BBC Four)
I didn’t actually catch many of these, but I was highly impressed by Mark E Everett’s look at his father’s groundbreaking work in Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives, and would love to see it win.

Best feature
Heston Blumenthal: In Search of Perfection (BBC Two)
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (Channel 4)
The Secret Millionaire (Channel 4)
Top Gear (BBC Two)
A mixed bag here, and I wouldn’t be very surprised if any of them won. I often watch and thoroughly enjoy Top Gear, despite knowing nothing about cars, and The Secret Millionaire was always uplifting. I think it’s probably between those two, but won’t be drawn on which…

Best international show
Californication (Five)
Family Guy (BBC Three)
Heroes (BBC Two)
My Name Is Earl (Channel 4)
We’re all big fans of My Name Is Earl here at TV Scoop, and I’d really love for it to win, but this award has Heroes written all over it, and we wouldn’t have any issues with that result either.

Best special factual
Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain (BBC Two)
Earth: The Power of the Planet (BBC Two)
The Genius of Photography (BBC Four)
The Relief of Belsen (Channel 4)
I watched all of Andrew Marr’s History of Modern Britain and Earth: The Power Of Planet, and both were fascinating and entertaining from beginning to end. I’d like either to win, but BBC Four’s flagship series The Genius of Photography might just come in under the radar.

Best sport
Boat Race (ITV1)
ITV F1: Canadian Grand Prix Live (ITV1)
Rugby World Cup 2007: England v France semi-final (ITV1)
Wimbledon – The Men’s Final (BBC One)
For me, the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon is the gold standard of sports programming – entertaining, informative, and creatively put together. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if England’s surprise success in the Rugby World Cup had an influence on the result.