Claudia Winkleman named best presenter at RTS awards

Claudia Winkleman was praised for her "natural wit" by judges at the RTS Awards

Claudia Winkleman has been named best entertainment presenter at the Royal Television Society Awards, beating Graham Norton and Keith Lemon.

Judges said Winkleman, who took a full-time role on Strictly Come Dancing when Sir Bruce Forsyth stepped down, was "a genuinely individual performer".

Her win was something of a coup - as neither Sir Bruce nor Tess Daly had ever been nominated for the award.

The star said she was "ridiculously happy" to have been honoured.

The main acting prizes went to Sarah Lancashire and Tom Hollander

Overall, the BBC took 18 of the 28 prizes at Tuesday night's ceremony.

Sarah Lancashire was named best female actor for her role in the drama series Happy Valley, while Tom Hollander won best actor for his portrayal of poet Dylan Thomas in BBC Two's A Poet In New York.

Graham Norton made up for his loss in the entertainment presenter category by winning best entertainment programme.

Judges called his chat show "effortlessly slick, brilliantly cast and continually fresh".

Medical drama Casualty was the surprise winner of best soap, beating both Coronation Street and EastEnders.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton shared the best comedy performance trophy for their comedy anthology Inside No. 9 - which tells a series of dark, twisted stories, each set behind a door marked "number nine".

Another comedy duo - Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse - picked up best scripted comedy show for their affectionate spoof of BBC Two's history, The Story of the Twos, which was commissioned to celebrate the channel's 50th anniversary.

Fly on the wall dinner party show Couples Come Dine With Me won best daytime show

ITV received just one award - as Billy Connolly was named best presenter for Billy Connolly's Big Send Off, a two-part documentary examining how different cultures deal with death.

Channel 4 received best daytime show, for Couples Come Dine With Me, and best popular factual show, for The Island with Bear Grylls - beating The Great British Bake-Off.

Arts broadcaster Melvyn Bragg was given the lifetime achievement award, marking his 52 years in television.

The South Bank show presenter was hailed was being "synonymous with the arts", and credited as a "great broadcaster and programme maker".

Harry and Paul's Story of the Twos won best writing and best scripted comedy. The show presented an alternative history of the BBC's second TV channel, lampooning shows like Great British Bake-Off

The BBC's controller of drama commissioning, Ben Stephenson, was presented with the judges' award.

The executive was described as having had "an extraordinary year", having been responsible for seven of the 10 most-watched dramas of the year.

His commissions included The Fall, The Missing and Line Of Duty - which picked up best drama series.

Stephens used his speech to ask the audience to rally behind the BBC as it approaches charter renewal.

"No more cuts at BBC, only programmes," he told the audience of industry professionals.

"Time for everyone to get behind the BBC," he added. "The BBC is always on the front pages for the wrong reasons and it's nonsense."

Full list of winners

Best arts programme went to Grayson Perry's Who Are You, which explored identity in modern Britain

• Female actor: Sarah Lancashire for Happy Valley (BBC One)

• Male actor: Tom Hollander for A Poet In New York (BBC Two)

• Arts programme: Grayson Perry: Who Are You? (Channel 4)

• Children's Fiction: 4 O'Clock Club, Christmas (CBBC)

• Children's Programme: The Big Performance 3: Finale (CBBC)

• Comedy Performance: Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton - Inside No. 9 (BBC Two)

• Daytime Programme: Couples Come Dine With Me (Channel 4)

• Documentary Series: Life & Death Row (BBC Three)

• Drama Serial: The Honourable Woman (BBC Two)

• Drama Series: Line Of Duty (BBC Two)

• Entertainment: The Graham Norton Show (BBC One)

• Entertainment Performance: Claudia Winkleman - Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One)

Sky's Gary Neville won best sports pundit

• History: Our World War (BBC Three)

• International: Fargo (Channel 4)

• Live Event: D-Day: The Heroes Return (BBC One)

• Popular, Factual and Features: The Island With Bear Grylls (Channel 4)

• Presenter: Billy Connolly - Billy Connolly's Big Send Off (ITV)

• Science and Natural History: Live From Space: Lap Of The Planet (Channel 4)

• Scripted Comedy: Harry And Paul's Story Of The Twos (BBC Two)

• Single Documentary: The Paedophile Hunter (Channel 4)

• Single Drama: Murdered By My Boyfriend (BBC Three)

• Soap and Continuing Drama: Casualty (BBC One)

• Sports Presenter: Gary Neville (Sky Sports)

• Sports Programme: The 2014 Ryder Cup (Sky Sports)

• Writer - Comedy: Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse & Charlie Higson - Harry And Paul's Story Of The Twos (BBC Two)

• Writer - Drama: Peter Bowker - Marvellous (BBC Two)

• Judges' Award: Ben Stephenson, Controller Drama Commissioning, BBC Television

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Melvyn Bragg