BAFTA TV Awards shocker: 'Sherlock' beats 'Downton Abbey'

"Sherlock," the BBC update of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective tales, won the BAFTA TV Award for best drama series over last year's champ "Misfits" and the program that was the toast of the British tube this past year: "Downton Abbey."

The star who portrayed sleuth Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch, lost best actor to Daniel Rigby ("Eric and Ernie"), but his Watson, Martin Freeman, triumphed in the supporting category.

Freeman gave one of the most noteworthy acceptance speeches at London's Grosvenor House on Sunday, telling the audience he planned to put his trophy "on the pillow next to me and talk to it as if it were my partner."

Freeman beat "Downton Abbey" star Brendan Coyle. "Abbey" lost the YouTube audience award to "The Only Way Is Essex." Thus the TV show that has reaped the highest British audience (12 million) for a new drama series in more than a decade was totally shut out.

"Downton Abbey" and "Sherlock" will square off again soon at the U.S. prime-time Emmys where they are set to cause much confusion. They'll compete as miniseries instead of drama series.

Meanwhile, other U.S. Emmy contenders competed at the BAFTA TV Awards in the category for international series. "Boardwalk Empire," "Glee" and "Mad Men" lost to the original Danish version of "The Killing." However, its producer, Piv Bernth, didn't hold on to her prize very long. After the ceremony, she accidentally left "her BAFTA mask in a black cab near Marble Arch just after midnight," reports the Guardian.

See a full list of other winners at the BAFTA site.

-- Tom O'Neil

Photos: "Sherlock," left; "Downton Abbey." Credits: BBC; ITV

Comments

[andy lawrence]

I'm sorry, the quote attributed to Martin Freeman was made by Best Actor Award Winner Daniel Rigby. But Martin did have a wonderful acceptance speech with some funny bits as well.

[hester]

Benedict Cumberbatch was robbed of the best actor award. He's an amazing actor and brilliant on screen and stage. i will never forget seeing him lay the creature at the National Theatre's production of Danny Boyle's Frankenstein. I do hope Boyle will film the play one day with Benedict. As well as Sherlock he shoudl have bene nominated for Van Gogh Painted with Words and I hope peopel in the US get to see that performance one day