BBC One's special, The Royle Family: The Queen Of Sheba took the top comedy prize at last night's Royal Television Society Television Awards, beating Green Wing and Extras.

The judges awarded the Best Sitcom or Comedy Drama prize to the Caroline Aherne comedy, calling it "a masterclass in writing," adding that the return of one of television’s finest creations "exceeded all expectations".

The corporation also managed to take the Breakthrough Award - Behind the Screen for
Lee Mack and Andrew Collins sitcom Not Going Out from Avalon Television, and in Entertainment, talent contest How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? beat off rivals to win the category.

The Apprentice took best Factual Entertainment programme for BBC Two, and Coronation Street beat fellow nominees Emmerdale and The Bill to win Best Soap,

Five's 9/11: Out Of The Blue from Silver River Productions, won the Arts programme award, with judges calling it "an outstanding film in which the combination of poetry and real interviews for the subject matter was strikingly original". Planet Earth: From Pole To Pole scooped the Science & Natural History award.

In Children's programming, CBBC's Young Dracula won Best Drama, and BBC One's Newsround - The Wrong Trainers won best Children's Programme.

BBC Two's Who Do You Think You Are? won best History programme, More4's True Stories: Sisters In Law won Best Single Documentary, and BBC Two's Anatomy Of A Crime taking Best Documentary Series.

More4 also won with Death Of A President taking the Digital Channel Programme Award, and was noted for being "brave, clever and controversial."

The Breakthrough Award - On Screen award went to Sacha Dhawan for his Channel 4 film, Bradford Riots, and the Presenter award went to Bruce Parry for his BBC Two programme Tribe, which the judges said took "the notion of commitment to a whole new level".

The International Award went to the second series of Entourage, produced by HBO for ITV2.

The Single Drama award went to Housewife 49 for ITV, with Best Drama Serial going to the Tiger Aspect Production Low Winter Sun for Channel 4. The Street won Best Drama series for BBC One.

Acting awards went to Dame Helen Mirren for her reprisal of the DCI Jane Tennison role in Prime Suspect: The Final Act, with Michael Sheen winning for Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! . Performance awards went to Never Mind the Buzzcocks' Simon Amstell, Extras' Stephen Merchant.

Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder and Vicar of Dibley writer Richard Curtis was also given an award for his outstanding contribution to UK television programming.

Clive Jones, who recently stepped down as chief executive of ITV News and was referred to as "institution in UK broadcasting," was awarded a Gold Medal for his contribution to the industry.

The awards, hosted by Mark Austin and presented by RTS chair Jane Lighting, were given out last night at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.