Downton Abbey will take on Doctor Who for the title of top drama at the National Television Awards.

ITV1's saga about the Crawley family has been shortlisted for the awards for the first time and is up against Merlin and last year's winner Waterloo Road, as well as Who, for the title.

Doctor Who stars are up for two further awards with Matt Smith, who plays The Doctor, up for best male performance, while Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) is up for the female equivalent. However, none of the Downton stars make the running for any of the acting gongs.

Ant and Dec will be hoping to take the top entertainment presenter prize for an 11th consecutive year after being shortlisted once again. The Geordie duo line up against X Factor host Dermot O'Leary, Keith Lemon and Michael McIntyre.

Comedian McIntyre is up for a further prize with his Comedy Roadshow, which competes for the best entertainment programme title, along with Take Me Out, Dynamo: Magician Impossible and Harry Hill's TV Burp.

Britain's Got Talent - for which McIntyre was a panellist last year - is in the running for top talent show, alongside X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice.

Gillan, who is stepping down from her Doctor Who role during the next series, goes up against Torchwood's Eve Myles, Jaye Jacobs (Waterloo Road) and Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey) for the acting honours. And Smith faces competition from Martin Clunes (Doc Martin), John Barrowman (Torchwood) and David Threlfall (Shameless).

Voting has opened to allow viewers to have their say in the awards which will be presented by O'Leary from London's O2 Arena and broadcast by ITV1.

Below is the full list of nominations:

National Television Awards 2012 full list of nominations:

Talent Show:
Britain's Got Talent
Dancing on Ice
Strictly Come Dancing
The X Factor

Comedy Panel Show:
Celebrity Juice
Have I Got News For You
Mock The Week
QI

Serial Drama:
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks

Situation Comedy:
Benidorm
Miranda
Outnumbered

Drama:
Doctor Who
Downton Abbey
Merlin
Waterloo Road

Drama Performance Male:
John Barrowman (Torchwood)
Martin Clunes (Doc Martin)
Matt Smith (Doctor Who)
David Threlfall (Shameless)

Drama Performance Female:
Karen Gillan (Doctor Who)
Jaye Jacobs (Waterloo Road)
Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey)
Eve Myles (Torchwood)

Serial Drama Performance:
Katherine Kelly (Coronation Street)
Alison King (Coronation Street)
Danny Miller (Emmerdale)
Jessie Wallace (EastEnders)

Reality Programme:
Come Dine With Me
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
The Apprentice
The Only Way is Essex

Factual Programme:
An Idiot Abroad
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
This Morning
Top Gear

Talk Show:
Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Loose Women
The Graham Norton Show
The Jonathan Ross Show

Newcomer:
Chris Fountain (Coronation Street)
Chelsea Halfpenny (Emmerdale)
Jacqueline Jossa (EastEnders)

Entertainment Presenter:
Ant & Dec
Keith Lemon
Michael McIntyre
Dermot O'Leary

Entertainment Programme:
Dynamo: Magician Impossible
Harry Hill's TV Burp
Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
Take Me Out