"It's a disgrace!" fumed Helen Mirren backstage to reporters about "Elizabeth" not being recognized by BAFTA. Moments after she won a SAG for her role in the HBO telefilm as Britain's Queen Elizabeth I, she went into a royal tirade. "It wasn't even nominated by BAFTA! I don't know why. Considering the great work put in by the cast and crew of a great production, I think that's shameful!"

The television movies that were nominated by BAFTA last year were "Much Ado About Nothing", a modern retelling of the Shakespeare comedy set in a TV news station; "The Queen's Sister", a saucy biopic of sassy Princess Margaret; "Red Dust", a look at post apartheid South Africa starring Hilary Swank and directed by Tom Hooper who helmed both "Elizabeth I" and "Prime Suspect 6"; and the winner, "The Government Inspector", a gripping look at the mysterious death of a British UN weapons inspector. The actor and actress categories at BAFTA are extraordinarily competitive with only four nominees taken from movie, mini-series, and series performances. Mark Rylance of "The Government Inspector" and Anne Maxwell Martin of "Bleak House" were the winners.

When asked if she'd like to win an Oscar, Mirren replied, "I would never answer that question! If you'd have asked me that 10 years ago, I would've said 'yes,' but not now . . . ." She admits to being flabbergasted about her unbeaten winning streak so far "in your wonderful country . . . but not in Britain." Mirren is nominated for best actress for "The Queen" at the upcoming BAFTAS (against the same lineup as at the Oscars) and she won BAFTAS for each of the first three "Prime Suspect" television movies and was nominated for the next three (the 7th and final film aired in 2006 and will be eligible for the BAFTA TV prizes in May).