Harry Hill snatches Bafta award from Jonathan Ross

One of the BBC's grand old men, Sir David Attenborough, won a Bafta last night, 48 years after winning his first such award, while ITV presenter Harry Hill saved the corporation's blushes by denying Jonathan Ross the chance to win in the best entertainment performance category.

At a ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall hosted by Graham Norton, Attenborough, Mr Natural History at the Beeb for half a century, won in the specialist factual category for his series In Cold Blood. A month short of his 83rd birthday, he was asked if he was considering retirement. "No, certainly not," he responded. "I'm going off to the Antarctic next, to look at penguins and that sort of thing - and icebergs, if they're still there."

Bafta had raised eyebrows by shortlisting Ross for the entertainment award so soon after his temporary sacking over the 'Manuelgate' scandal. There will have been a sigh of relief in the BBC's corridors of power that he failed to win the entertainment award, even if it meant losing out to ITV.

Best drama series went to the BBC's Wallander, the Scandanavian detective series based on the novels by Henning Mankell, starring Kenneth Branagh. It beat Doctor Who, Spooks and Shameless to the award. ITV's The Bill won for best continuing drama; it was the long-running cop show's first Bafta for 25 years.

The Bafta for best actor went to Stephen Dillane for his role as the grieving father in Channel 4's The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall. Best actress was Anna Maxwell Martin for her performance as a mental health patient in Poppy Shakespeare, another C4 success. The actress had won the same award for Bleak House in 2005.
    
Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse shared the best comedy programme award for their sketch show Harry and Paul. It was Whitehouse's fourth Bafta but the first ever for Enfield.

David Mitchell won best comedy performance for Peep Show, though the show itself lost out to C4's The IT Crowd in the best sitcom category.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders received the Bafta Fellowship. They were the first comedy double-act to receive the British academy's top honour since Morecambe and Wise in 1999. ·