Smith, 27, has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance as the Eleventh Doctor in the
2010 series of Doctor Who, marking the first time in the history of the 48-year-old show that one of its lead actors has been nominated such an award.
Smith is up against
Benedict Cumberbatch, for
Sherlock, Jim Broadbent, for
Any Human Heart, and Daniel Rigby,
Eric and Ernie.
Doctor Who and Sherlock are both produced by Steven Moffat for the BBC. Earlier this year, both programmes also went head to head after receiving nominations for the National Television Awards.
Five years ago,
Doctor Who itself won the Best Drama Series award for the 2005 series, which starred Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler.
On that occassion,
Doctor Who also won the Audience Award - which is the only BAFTA award voted on by the viewing public - while its showrunner, Russell T Davies, received the Dennis Potter Award, for his "achievement in television writing".
Three years ago, the 2008 series, which starred David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, was nominated for the Best Drama Series category. However, the show lost out to Kenneth Branagh's
Wallander.
Since Doctor Who's return to TV screens in 2005, the show and its spin-offs, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, have all been nominated for and received awards in the BAFTA Cymru and BAFTA Craft Awards.
Meanwhile, Robert Sheehan, who plays Nathan in Channel 4's surprise hit science-fiction drama series,
Misfits, has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Award. Last month, the show's producers confirmed rumours that
Sheehan was to quit the series ahead of its third series.
In 2010,
Misfits surprised everyone by winning the BAFTA Best Drama Award. This year, the series is up for four awards.
Included among the other nominations announced today are dramas
The Road to Coronation Street,
Glee,
Boardwalk Empire,
The Killing and
Mad Men and reality shows
The Only Way Is Essex and
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.
The BAFTA website
has a full list of categories and nominations for the 2011 BAFTA Awards, which will be held at London's Grosvenor House Hotel on Sunday, 22 May.
