Unlikely battle for an RTS award

They are very different characters – but Charlie Brooker and will.i.am are to go head-to-head for the same television award.

Both have been nominated for best entertainment performance, alongside Ant & Dec, in the Royal Television Society Awards.

In other categories, Alan Partridge: Welcome To The Places Of My Life , Fresh Meat and Twenty Twelve have been shortlisted for scripted comedy

The best comedy performance will go to Jessica Hynes for Twenty Twelve , Ruth Jones for Stella or Jack Whitehall for Fresh Meat.

And the nominees for best comedy writer are Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and  Joanna Scanlan for Getting On; John Morton for Twenty Twelve and the writing team behind The Thick Of It

The awards will be presented at a London ceremony hosted by Jo Brand on March 19 – six days before she presents the Chortle Awards.

Meanwhile, Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival has also announced the shortlist for its awards, which are announced on March 11.

Up for best show are Barbara Steele’s Wheels of Steel; Francesca Martinez: What the **** is Normal?; Nish Kumar: Who is Nish Kumar?; Paul Currie: The Sticky Bivouac and Romesh Ranganathan for Rom Com.

And for best new show: Anthony King: Not Normal; Brett Goldstein: Contains Scenes Of An Adult Nature; Charlie Baker: Work in Progress; Geoff Norcott: Farewell Shiny Suit; Lee Ridley: Voice of Choice and Rhys Matthewson

Published: 1 Mar 2013