"Gavin and Stacey" win two Baftas

LONDON (Reuters) - "Gavin and Stacey", the sitcom about an Essex boy who falls in love with a girl from Wales, beat "The Apprentice" and "Strictly Come Dancing" to win the only Bafta television award chosen by viewers.

The BBC 3 comedy saw off strong competition from other nominees including "Cranford", "The Apprentice" and "Strictly Come Dancing" to win the Sky+ Audience Award for programme of the year.

Actor James Corden, who plays Smithy in the series which he co-wrote with Ruth Jones, also picked up the best comedy performance prize at the London Palladium on Sunday.

"That's ridiculous," he said after accepting his Bafta from comic Simon Pegg. "You'll never, ever know what this means. Not funny, but true."

He dedicated his award to his family and to Jones, describing her as a great writer and actress and "the best friend anyone could hope for".

Also nominated were Stephen Merchant for "Extras", David Mitchell for "Peep Show" and Peter Capaldi for "The Thick of It".

Comedian Harry Hill was the other big winner of the night, picking up two awards for "Harry Hill's TV Burp", an irreverent look at the previous week's television.

The comic wore his trademark black suit and white shirt with oversized collars when he accepted his prizes for best entertainment programme and performance.

Dame Eileen Atkins beat her "Cranford" co-star Judi Dench to win the best actress award. Atkins played Miss Deborah Jenkyns in the BBC adaptation of the Elizabeth Gaskell novel.