It is shortlisted for best single drama, best actress for Morton and best actor for Broadbent and Andy Serkis, who played Ian Brady.
Meanwhile, ITV's rival Moors murders drama, See No Evil - starring Maxine Peake as Hindley - is nominated for best drama serial.
Both programmes sparked controversy. Winnie Johnson, mother of Moors murder victim Keith Bennett, branded Longford "disgusting". But Morton said: "I believe it is my duty as a performer to raise issues we're afraid to look at."
Meanwhile, BBC1's drama series Life On Mars - which ended last night - has received the critical plaudits its popularity demanded. The show, which saw 21st-century detective Sam Tyler travel back in time to 1973, has been nominated for three Bafta TV awards.
It is shortlisted for best drama, best actor for John Simm - who played Tyler - as well as the "audience award".
The drama's first series was screened too late last year to be eligible for a Bafta and its only high-profile accolade so far has been an International Emmy.
Michael Sheen's portrayal of comic actor Kenneth Williams in BBC4's Fantabulosa! wins him a best actor nomination. Anne-Marie Duff 's role as Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen scores her a best actress nomination. Also shortlisted in the category are Ruth Wilson, 24, for BBC1's adaptation of Jane Eyre, andVictoria Wood, with a record 12th Bafta nomination for ITV1's Housewife 49.
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will go head-to-head for best comedy performance for BBC show Extras. Sir Alan Sugar will battle it out with Gordon Ramsay in the best features category, with The Apprentice and The F-Word both nominated.
Overall Channel 4 can boast the most nominations with 20, closely followed by BBC1 with 18. BBC2 has 14 and ITV1 13. The British Academy Television Awards will be held at the London Palladium on 20 May.
BEST ACTOR Jim Broadbent, Longford, Channel 4 Andy Serkis, Longford, Channel 4 Michael Sheen, Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!, BBC4 John Simm, Life On Mars, BBC1
BEST ACTRESS Anne-Marie Duff, The Virgin Queen, BBC1 Samantha Morton, Longford, Channel 4 Ruth Wilson, Jane Eyre, BBC1 Victoria Wood, Housewife 49, ITV1
BEST ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE Ant & Dec, Saturday Night Takeaway, ITV1 Stephen Fry, QI, BBC2 Paul Merton, Have I Got News For You, BBC1 Jonathan Ross, Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, BBC1
BEST COMEDY PERFORMANCE Dawn French, The Vicar of Dibley, BBC1 Ricky Gervais, Extras, BBC2 Stephen Merchant, Extras, BBC2 Liz Smith, The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba, BBC1
SINGLE DRAMA Housewife 49 Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! Longford Road To Guantanamo
DRAMA SERIES Life on Mars Shameless Sugar Rush The Street
DRAMA SERIAL Low Winter Sun Prime Suspect: The Final Act See No Evil: The Moors Murders The Virgin Queen
CONTINUING DRAMA Casualty Coronation Street EastEnders Emmerdale
FACTUAL SERIES Ross Kemp on Gangs Stephen Fry – The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive Tribe Who Do You Think You Are?
SPECIALIST FACTUAL Munich: Mossad's Revenge Nuremberg: Goering's Last Stand Planet Earth Simon Schama's Power of Art
SINGLE DOCUMENTARY Breaking Up With the Joneses Evicted 9/11: The Falling Man Rain In My Heart
FEATURES The Apprentice The Choir Dragons' Den The F Word
SPORT The Boat Race F1: Hungarian Grand Prix – Jenson Button's First Win Cricket on Five Winter Olympics
NEWS COVERAGE BBC Ten O'Clock News – Terrorism plot at Heathrow Channel 4 News – News From Iran Granada Reports: Morecambe Bay ITV Evening News – The Israel/Lebanon Crisis
INTERACTIVITY Dispatches – War Torn: Stories of Separation Meltdown and the Big Climate Change Experiment The Secret Policeman's Ball Terry Pratchett's Hogfather
INTERNATIONAL Entourage House Lost My Name is Earl
ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME Dancing on Ice Derren Brown: The Heist How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? The X Factor
SITUATION COMEDY Green Wing The IT Crowd Pulling The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba
COMEDY PROGRAMME The Catherine Tate Show Little Britain Abroad Little Miss Jocelyn That Mitchell & Webb Look
Pioneer Audience Award Life On Mars The Royle Family: Queen of Sheba Dragons' Den The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special Planet Earth Celebrity Big Brother
