Martin Freeman in running for animation voice performance award

Updated

Sherlock star Martin Freeman has been nominated for best voice performance in the British Animation Awards 2016.

The Hampshire-born actor received the recognition for his work as Stick Man in the eponymous BBC One adaptation of the much-loved children's book.

Freeman faces stiff competition from The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd in Irish children's programme Puffin Rock and William Vanderpuye for his lively voice performances in Rastamouse.

Londoner Vanderpuye plays yellow-shirted mouse Zoomer in the popular series but also voices several other characters in the CBeebies show.

Held every two years, the British Animation Awards reward the very best in animation across a variety of categories.

BBC Two's The Children Of The Holocaust, first broadcast in 2014, is nominated in the best long form category.

The acclaimed programme used animated films to illustrate the traumatic childhood experiences of Second World War Holocaust survivors.

Stick Man and Shaun The Sheep: The Movie also battle it out in the same category at the March 10 event in London.

Clangers, the series about the pink mouse-like creatures which debuted in 1969, returned to the BBC in 2015 with Michael Palin as the narrator.

It is nominated for best pre-school alongside fellow CBeebies show Hey Duggee and Nick Jr's Lily's Driftwood Bay.

Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew's mystery-solving adventures are rewarded with a nod for best children's series alongside Amazing World of Gumball and Scream Street.

Best animation in a commercial sees Sainsbury's Mog The Cat take on Anchor's Little Elephants and Mariposa's Family.

Previous winners have included Hollywood director Tim Burton, Oscar-winner Nick Park and Gorillaz, the virtual band co-created by Blur's Damon Albarn.

British Animation Awards director Jayne Pilling said: "We are incredibly excited to be putting on this wonderful celebration of British animation in the 20th year since the British Animation Awards began.

"We've had some fantastic winners over the years, but the calibre of this year's finalists prove that the animation industry is in better health than ever."

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