The Stage

Comedian Wood triumphs in Baftas with straight role

Published Monday 21 May 2007 at 11:45 by Matthew Hemley

Victoria Wood was last night named best actress at the Bafta television awards for her performance in ITV’s Housewife, 49.

Wood saw off competition from Anne-Marie Duff in The Virgin Queen, Samantha Morton in Longford and Ruth Wilson in Jane Eyre to scoop the award, which recognized her serious acting talents.

Wood has won five Bafta awards before, but all of them for comic performances.

Housewife, 49, adapted by Wood from the diary of a Lancashire housewife during the Second World War, also scooped best single drama award. It beat BBC4’s Fantabulosa!, a drama about Kenneth Williams, and Channel 4’s Longford.

Longford was triumphant elsewhere in the ceremony, however, with Jim Broadbent picking up the best actor award for his portrayal of the Labour peer who campaigned for Myra Hindley’s release from prison.

Broadbent beat his co-star Andy Serkis, Life on Mars actor John Simm and Michael Sheen for his portrayal of Kenneth Williams in Fantabulosa!

Elsewhere, Casualty beat Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale to win the award for best continuing drama, while Jimmy McGovern’s six-part BBC1 drama The Street won the best drama series award. It beat Channel 4 series Shameless and Sugar Rush and the BBC’s Life on Mars.

Though Life on Mars was snubbed by Bafta judges, it picked up the only award voted for by audiences, taking the Pioneer Audience Award.

ITV1’s See No Evil: The Moors Murders won best drama serial over Channel 4’s Low Winter Sun, BBC1’s The Virgin Queen and ITV1’s Prime Suspect: The Final Act. Jonathan Ross won the award for best entertainment performance in Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, beating Ant and Dec, Stephen Fry and Paul Merton. The X Factor scooped the best entertainment programme award over Derren Brown: The Heist, Dancing on Ice and How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?

Ricky Gervais picked up his seventh BAFTA for best comedy performance in Extras, while That Mitchell & Webb Look picked up a Bafta for best comedy programme, beating The Catherine Tate Show and Little Britain.

The Royle Family: Queen Of Sheba collected the award for best situation comedy.

A full list of winners can be found at http://www.bafta.org/site/page129.html