Series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman beats Downton Abbey and Misfits at TV awards ceremony
It was appropriate that BBC1's acclaimed modern retelling of the Sherlock Holmes story should triumph at the Bafta TV awards on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday.
The updated crime drama beat ITV1's Downton Abbey to the best drama series prize and one of its stars, Martin Freeman, won best supporting actor for his role as Doctor Watson.
But Benedict Cumberbatch, who starred as Sherlock Holmes, lost out in the lead actor category to Daniel Rigby, who played Eric Morecambe in another BBC drama, the Victoria Wood-produced comic biopic Eric and Ernie.
Freeman described the show as a "love story" between Holmes and Watson. "Not just a love story – these two people who love and need each other in a slightly dysfunctional relationship, but in a relationship that works," he said.
Cumberbatch said: "It's just terrific. It's validation for what we have been doing, we went in with confidence but to come out with an award is wonderful."
The surprise winner of the awards at London's Grosvenor House hotel was ITV2's "fake tan and fur coats" docusoap The Only Way Is Essex, which beat Sherlock and Downton Abbey to the YouTube Audience Award, voted for by viewers.
A big hit for the ITV digital channel but with a fraction of the viewers of Sherlock or Downton Abbey, The Only Way is Essex is one of a new breed of shows combining the reality elements of Big Brother with soap-style storylines.
The programme's executive producer Nicky Hegarty said there were two essential ingredients to the show's success: "Humour and people like looking at people who are gorgeous."
Bafta history was made with the first 3D winner, Sky1's Flying Monsters 3D. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it won the specialist factual prize, beating BBC1's Human Planet.
Attenborough, 85, said rumours of his retirement were premature. "I couldn't believe this would come to me at this stage in my career," said Attenborough. "3D has a lot of problems – the cameras are huge and that's quite a hard problem to solve – so to get it on air and now to win this is a dream come true."
Attenborough, who is making another two 3D documentaries for Sky, added: "I never said I wanted to retire – as long as people want me to stand up and carry on doing these things I will do, I assure you."
It was a good night for BBC2 comedy, with Rev, starring Tom Hollander, winning best sitcom and sketch show Harry and & Paul taking home the comedy programme prize, while Steve Coogan won his third Bafta for The Trip, in which he played himself opposite Rob Brydon. "This is one of the hardest roles I have ever had to prepare for," joked Coogan. "I have spent the best part of 40 years researching it, I still haven't quite found out who it is."
Another BBC2 comedy star, Miranda Hart, lost out in the female comedy performance category to Jo Brand for her BBC4 hospital-set sitcom, Getting On. Brand said: "I am flabbergasted, mainly because over the years I have been so slagged off for my acting ability by the critics. I am getting an awful lot of schadenfreude from all those critics who hate me."
The awards' host Graham Norton won the best entertainment performance prize, but his BBC1 chat show lost out in the entertainment programme category to a surprise winner, ITV1's The Cube, which also beat fellow ITV show The X Factor.
Another surprise was the lack of prizes for ITV1's Downton Abbey and BBC1's Doctor Who.
The awards were dominated by the BBC, with six wins for BBC1, five for BBC2 and four for digital channel BBC4. Of the commercial broadcasters, Channel 4 won three, ITV1 two, and one apiece for Sky1 and E4.
Former News at Ten presenter Sir Trevor McDonald received the prestigious Bafta fellowship award. McDonald said it was the responsibility of news broadcasters to "make accessible to as wide an audience as possible the complex issues that arise in national and international politics. These people who govern us are responsible to us and they must speak in our name."
TV producer and Comic Relief co-founder Peter Bennett-Jones, who received Bafta's special award, revealed that the charity had raised a record £102m in 2011 and demonstrated the "positive power of television".
The Bafta winners
Leading actor: Daniel Rigby, Eric And Ernie
Leading actress: Vicky McClure, This Is England '86
Supporting actor: Martin Freeman, Sherlock
Supporting actress: Lauren Socha, Misfits
Entertainment performance: Graham Norton, The Graham Norton Show
Female performance in a comedy programme: Jo Brand, Getting On
Male performance in a comedy programme: Steve Coogan, The Trip
Single drama: The Road to Coronation Street
Drama series: Sherlock
Drama serial: Any Human Heart
Continuing drama: EastEnders
International: The Killing
Factual series: Welcome to Lagos
Specialist factual: Flying Monsters 3D
Single documentary: Between Life And Death
Features: Hugh's Fish Fight
Current affairs: Zimbabwe's Forgotten Children, BBC4
News coverage: ITV News At Ten: The Cumbria Murders
Sport: Formula One, The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
New media: Wallace And Gromit's World of Invention
Entertainment programme: The Cube
Comedy programme: Harry and Paul
Situation comedy: Rev
Bafta special award: Peter Bennett-Jones
YouTube audience award: The Only Way Is Essex
Bafta fellowship: Sir Trevor McDonald