Baby Reindeer among shows nominated for National Television Awards

Netflix hit show Baby Reindeer has been recognised in the National Television Awards (NTAs) longlist for best new drama, while actress Jessica Gunning and creator-turned-star Richard Gadd received nods for best drama performance.

The show is said to have been inspired by the real-life experiences of comedian and writer Gadd, and sees his character Donny Dunn stalked by a woman named Martha Scott (Gunning) after he serves her a free cup of tea in the pub where he works.

Baby Reindeer has hit the headlines after Fiona Harvey, who has identified herself as the woman who inspired the character Martha, claimed she is putting a legal case together because she alleges the story is inaccurate.

Neither Netflix or Gadd have confirmed the real identity of Martha.

Gadd and Gunning were nominated for best drama performance alongside David Tennant, for his brief return to Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary episodes, and Ncuti Gatwa, who took over the role as the 15th Time Lord.

Anne Reid and Timothy Spall were also nominated for their roles in The Sixth Commandment, which explores the deaths of Ann Moore-Martin and Peter Farquhar in Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire.

It comes after Spall won the leading actor gong at the annual Bafta TV Awards earlier this month.

Actors Katherine Kelly, Monica Dolan, and Toby Jones were also all nominated in the same category for ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which led to renewed attention on justice for subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.

Baby Reindeer, The Sixth Commandment, and Mr Bates vs The Post Office are all competing in the best new drama category, opposite Steve Coogan’s portrayal of Jimmy Savile in The Reckoning and Michelle Keegan’s Fool Me Once.

The longlist also saw Good Morning Britain star Kate Garraway nominated in three categories.

She is up for best TV presenter, alongside former This Morning star Holly Willoughby and new This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, as well as Love Island presenter Maya Jama and Strictly Come Dancing co-hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

They are joined in the category by NTA powerhouses Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who took home the award for the 22nd year in a row during last year’s ceremony.

Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win was also up for best quiz game show, while I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway were nominated for the Bruce Forsyth entertainment award.

It comes after more than four million viewers tuned into watch the pair sign off the two-hour finale of Saturday Night Takeaway, having paused the ITV entertainment series to “catch our breath”.

This week McPartlin announced the arrival of his first child, a baby boy named Wilder, with his wife Anne-Marie Corbett.

Garraway was also nominated for best authored documentary, which followed the final year of her husband’s life.

The TV star announced in January that former political lobbyist Derek Draper had died at the age of 56 after a lengthy battle with the long-term effects of Covid.

Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story followed on from two other programmes about Draper’s battle with Covid and her struggles navigating the care system.

The authored documentary category will also see married couple Coleen and Wayne Rooney face off for the prize.

Coleen is nominated for her Disney+ series about the “Wagatha Christie” trial with fellow footballer’s wife Rebekah Vardy, while Wayne received a nod for his Prime Video film about the life of the former Manchester United and England captain.

Similarly, David Beckham’s self-titled series, which featured the viral “be honest” moment with his wife Victoria Beckham, is also competing.

Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds also appears in the authored documentary longlist for her ITV film titled Finding My Secret Family which saw the athlete track down her birth mother and won the Bafta TV award for best single documentary this month.

Garraway is also up for best factual entertainment category for her ITV show Life Stories, while Jeremy Clarkson features twice for Clarkson’s Farm and The Grand Tour.

Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mcelhenney’s Welcome To Wrexham series, which chronicles their journey with the football club, also feature in the category.

The NTA shortlist will be revealed in August when the final round of voting begins.

British comedian Joel Dommett will return to host the TV awards on September 11 at London’s O2 arena, broadcast live on ITV and ITVX.