12 Years A Slave leads Golden Globe nominations

12 Years A Slave and American Hustle scored seven nominations each

12 Years A Slave, directed by Britain's Steve McQueen, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, is leading the nominations at this year's Golden Globe Awards.

The movie about a man forced to live as a slave picked up seven nominations, including best film drama.

McQueen will go head-to-head for the best director trophy with American Hustle's David O Russell, whose film also received seven nods.

Ejiofor will vie with fellow Brit Idris Elba for best actor in a film drama.

Elba was nominated for his role as Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom.

The British pair face stiff competition from Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club; Hollywood royalty Robert Redford in All is Lost and Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips.

McConaughey said he was "excited and honoured". "Ron Woodroof was a revolutionary for the human spirit, and I was blessed to tell his story," he said of the real-life character he plays.

Ejiofor and Elba are also rivals for the best actor in a TV movie or mini-series category for their respective performances in Dancing on the Edge and Luther.

Elba said: "I'm truly humbled and honoured to be acknowledged for two projects that, though very different from one another, are both extremely personal and special to me."

Douglas and Damon compete for the best actor in a TV movie or mini-series category for the Liberace biopic

They will be competing against Behind the Candelabra leads Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, and Al Pacino as the eponymous Phil Spector.

Ejiofor thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who vote on the awards, for the "incredible recognition".

"The response to 12 Years A Slave and Dancing On The Edge from the public and media alike has been overwhelming and I am so very grateful. To have been a part of these amazing projects was a gift in itself," he said.

12 Years A Slave is joined by Captain Phillips, Gravity, Formula One drama Rush and Philomena in the best film drama category.

It also picked up nominations for Ireland's Michael Fassbender in the best supporting actor category, Lupita Nyong'o for supporting actress, best screenplay and best score.

"All of these nominations hopefully mean that more people will go and see it and that is really exciting because I feel this film is pivotal and just so good for the world,'' said Nyong'o.

Mafia caper

American Hustle was shortlisted in the best film comedy or musical category, alongside Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska and Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

Nebraska's Alexander Payne joins Russell on the best director shortlist, alongside Gravity's Alfonso Cuaron, Steve McQueen and fellow Briton Paul Greengrass for Captain Phillips.

American Hustle, about a New Jersey con-man inadvertently caught up with the Mafia, also received nominations in all four acting categories for a film comedy or musical - echoing Russell's previous success with last year's Silver Linings Playbook.

British actresses Dame Judi Dench, Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson are nominated in the film drama category

Jennifer Lawrence is once again nominated, this time in the best supporting actress category. Rivals include Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, Julia Roberts in August: Osage County, Britain's Sally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine and June Squibb in Nebraska.

Fellow Silver Linings star Bradley Cooper also returns to the awards race for his supporting role in American Hustle alongside Michael Fassbender, German actor Daniel Bruhl for Rush, Dallas Buyers Club's Jared Leto and Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips.

Hustle's leading lady Amy Adams battles Julie Delphy (Before Midnight), Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha) Julia-Louis Dreyfus (Enough Said) and Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) for the title of best actress in a comedy or musical.

Adams' co-star, Britain's Christian Bale, will take on Her's Joaquin Phoenix, Nebraska's Bruce Dern, Inside Llewyn Davis star Oscar Isaac and Wolf of Wall Street's Leonardo DiCaprio for the title of best actor in a comedy or musical.

British women dominate in the best actress in a film drama category, with nominations for Dame Judi Dench in Philomena, Emma Thompson in Saving Mr Banks and Kate Winslet in Labor Day.

Winslet said she was "extremely surprised and absolutely thrilled" to be nominated

The shortlist includes with two more Oscar winners in the form of Gravity's Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett - who has long been tipped as this year's Academy favourite for her role in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

British artists also feature in the best original song category, with Coldplay's track Atlas - from the Hunger Games sequel - in competition with U2's Ordinary Love from the Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom.

Justin Timberlake and T Bone Burnett's collaboration Please Mr Kennedy, from the Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis, Taylor Swift's Sweeter than Fiction from Paul Potts biopic One Chance and Let it Go, by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, from the animated film Frozen complete the song shortlist.

Frozen is one of three films competing in the animated category

Frozen is also one of just three films nominated in the animated category, alongside Despicable Me 2 and The Croods.

Behind the Candelabra and House of Cards lead the television categories, with four nominations each - including nods for Kevin Spacey and his co-star Robin Wright in the Netflix remake of the BBC TV series.

Netflix, making its debut as a TV production company, also received nominations for Arrested Development and Orange is the New Black.

In the best TV drama series, cult favourite Breaking Bad rivals Downton Abbey, The Good Wife, House of Cards and Masters of Sex.

There were few surprises on the best comedy TV series category, with old favourites The Big Bang Theory, Parks & Recreation, Girls and Modern Family joined by newcomer Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Michael Sheen's performance in Masters Of Sex is also shortlisted for best actor in a TV drama series, along with Bryan Cranston, James Spader, Liev Schreiber and Spacey.

Other British stars in Globe contention include Helena Bonham Carter, for Burton and Taylor; Helen Mirren, for her role in Phil Spector; and Janet McTeer in The White Queen.

Steve Coogan also earned a nomination for his work on the Philomena screenplay, with Jeff Pope.

The White Queen joined two other BBC-backed productions, Dancing on the Edge and Top of the Lake, in the best mini-series or TV film category. Behind the Candelabra and American Horror Story: Coven complete the shortlist.

"BBC Drama's ten nominations in today's Golden Globes reinforces our international reputation and position as the very best producers of drama both at home and across the pond," said BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson.

Tina Fey and Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler will host the award ceremony, which takes place on 12 January in Los Angeles.