Voting opens for the 2015 National Television Awards

Voting has now opened for the twentieth National Television Awards, the annual ceremony that takes place in January with award-winners chosen by the British viewing public.

Doctor Who is included in the Drama category as usual, but competition is strong with some 34 productions to choose from at this stage of voting. The show is up against a range of British programmes, with only one import included this year: Atlantis, Call The Midwife, Casualty, Cilla, DCI Banks, Death Comes To Pemberley, Death In Paradise, Downton Abbey, Endeavour, The Escape Artist, Grantchester, Happy Valley, Holby City, Inspector George Gently, In The Club, Jonathan Creek, Last Tango In Halifax, Line of Duty, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Midsommer Murders, Mr Selfridge, The Musketeers, New Tricks, Our Zoo, Prey, Scott & Bailey, Sherlock, Shetland, Silent Witness, Suspects, Vera, The Village, and The Widower.

In the combined Drama Performance category, both Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are nominated for their Doctor Who roles, and will also face former Doctor David Tennant, up for his role in The Escape Artist. There are some 50 personalities listed in this category, including a number of Doctor Who guest stars from the past and present: Clare-Hope Ashitey (Suspects), Brenda Blethyn (Vera), Paul Bradley (Holby City), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Alan Davies (Jonathan Creek), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Jack Donnelly (Atlantis), Neil Dudgeon (Midsommer Murders), Shaun Evans (Endeavour), Emilia Fox (Silent Witness), Martin Freeman (Sherlock), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), Helen George (Call The Midwife), Robson Green (Grantchester), Miranda Hart (Call The Midwife), Keeley Hawes (Line Of Duty), Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Lee Ingleby (Our Zoo), Sir Derek Jacobi (Last Tango In Halifax), Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey), Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge), Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley), Nicholas Lyndhurst (New Tricks), Rosie Marcel (Holby City), Kris Marshall (Death In Paradise), Anna Maxwell Martin (Death Comes To Pemberley), Maimie McCoy (The Musketeers), Amanda Mealing (Casualty), Hermione Norris (In The Club), James Norton (Grantchester), Tamzin Outhwaite (New Tricks), Sarah Parish (Atlantis), Katherine Parkinson (In The Club), Maxine Peake (The Village), Luke Pasqualino (The Musketeers), Jeremy Piven (Mr Selfridge), Anne Reid (Last Tango In Halifax), Matthew Rhys (Death Comes To Pemberley), John Simm (Prey / The Village), Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey), Martin Shaw (Inspector George Gently), Reece Shearsmith (The Widower), Dame Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Sheridan Smith (Cilla), Derek Thompson (Casualty), and Stephen Tomkinson (DCI Banks).


The initial round of voting takes place until midnight 26th October, with the short-list votes taking place in January in the lead-up to the Awards Ceremony itself at the O2 Arena in London on 21st January 2015; the ceremony will be broadcast on ITV.

Last year saw Matt Smith win the Drama Performance category, with the show itself also winning Best Drama. The complete list of winners from previous years can be found on the NTA website.