This should be no surprise to anyone who watches this show.  It’s an excellent series with phenomenal actors (thank you very much, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, you’ve created shipper-crazed fans) and great storylines, so really, this isn’t news.  It would be news if it wasn’t nominated.  However, what would get fandoms in a tizzy is that it’s up against some other excellent shows.

Sherlock and Doctor Who will go head to head later this month for two of the big prizes at the National Television awards, which will feature a special award to celebrate the success of the Olympics and Paralympics.

The two BBC1 shows are both nominated for best drama, along with ITV1’s Downton Abbey and Merlin, which has just been brought to an end by BBC1.

Doctor Who’s Matt Smith and Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch are in the running for the best drama actor prize, along with Merlin’s Colin Morgan and Daniel Mays, who starred in ITV1’s Mrs Biggs.

The nominations bode well for Steven Moffat, the Doctor Who showrunner who is also, along with former League of Gentlemen star Mark Gatiss, co-creator of Sherlock.

What’s a person to do with all these great shows battling against each other?  Well, just continue watching them, I suppose…  unless the show gets cancelled (we’ll miss you, Merlin!)

Colin Morgan as Merlin in Merlin

Check out the rest of the categories and nominations at The Guardian.