Samuel L Jackson was among the Hollywood stars to appear in Extras

The BBC Two show is up for best comedy, new comedy, TV comedy actor, comedy actress and comedy newcomer.

There are also nods for last year's big winner, BBC One's Little Britain, whose stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas are up against Gervais for best TV actor.

The entertainment programme category sees Ant and Dec face The X Factor and Jonathan Ross.

BBC Two programmes head the award contenders with 11 nominations.

Cameo appearances

Extras, in which Gervais stars as a frustrated bit-part actor, launched in July and was also broadcast on cable channel HBO in the US.

The show, which has featured a host of big name film stars including Samuel L Jackson, Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet in cameo roles, also has two nominations for its co-star Ashley Jensen.

She faces competition from Catherine Tate and the Green Wing's Tamsin Greig for best actress, while for best newcomer Jensen is up against The Thick of It's Chris Addison and David Mitchell from the Peep Show.

The Catherine Tate Show, Extras and Little Britain are in the running for the best comedy honour at the awards, to be broadcast on ITV1 on 14 December.

Festival, Sideways and The Incredibles are nominated for best film.

Nominations

Actor
Chris Langham (Help, The Thick of It)
Matt Lucas and David Walliams (Little Britain)
Ricky Gervais (Extras)

Actress
Ashley Jensen (Extras)
Catherine Tate (The Catherine Tate Show)
Tamsin Greig (Green Wing, Love Soup)

Entertainment personality
Ant and Dec (Saturday Night Takeaway, I'm a Celebrity)
Jonathan Ross (Friday Night with Jonathan Ross)
Paul O'Grady (The Paul O'Grady Show)

Newcomer
Ashley Jensen (Extras)
Chris Addison (The Thick of It)
David Mitchell (Mock the Week, Peep Show)

New TV comedy
Extras
Help
The Thick Of It

TV comedy
Extras
Little Britain
The Catherine Tate Show

TV comedy drama
Christmas Lights
Not Only But Always
Shameless

Entertainment programme
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
The X Factor

International show
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Kath & Kim
The Simpsons

Film
Festival
Sideways
The Incredibles