Teenager takes on Hollywood greats at Emmys

A teenager will go head to head with Emma Thompson and Dame Judi Dench for one of the year's most prestigious acting awards.

Hannah Taylor Gordon, 14, from London, was last night nominated for an Emmy award for her leading role in the American mini-series Anne Frank, in which she played the Jewish girl forced into hiding with her family by the Nazis.

Despite having no acting training, Hannah was signed up by an agent when she was just four and has since appeared in the BBC series Casualty and feature films including Mansfield Park, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Anne Frank, a two-part drama, which has not been shown in Britain, drew critical acclaim in the US when it was screened earlier this year and Hannah Taylor Gordon was praised for her performance.

Emma Thompson was nominated for her part in mini-series Wit, while Dame Judi received the nomination for her part in Last of the Blonde Bombshells.

The mini-series category was dominated by British actors, with Kenneth Branagh and Gandhi star Ben Kingsley in contention for the best actor awards and Colin Firth, Brian Cox and Sir Ian Holm all nominated in the best supporting actor section. Kingsley's nomination is for his role as Otto Frank, Anne's father, in the drama, while Branagh was honoured for playing the lead part in mini-series Conspiracy.

The British 18th-century naval drama Hornblower, which stars Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd, received a series of nominations, including best mini-series, art direction, costume, make-up and special effects.

Veteran stage actor Sir Derek Jacobi was nominated for best guest appearance in a comedy for a part in Frasier when he played a washed-up Shakespearian actor in the hit American sitcom.

The BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs is almost certain to win one Emmy at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles on 16 September, as it is the only nominee for outstanding animation lasting more than one hour.

The Sopranos, the suburban mafia saga, claimed a record 22 nominations to 18 nods for the White House drama The West Wing, setting up a rematch of last year's heated rivalry for television's top awards.

The Sopranos, now in its third season, has never found favour with the Emmy voters, despite almost unqualified praise in every country where it has aired.