Piper calls the tune

Doctor Who was the star of the show at the National Television Awards last night.

The revamped BBC1 series won all three of the categories it was nominated in - most popular actress, actor and drama.

Winning the most popular actress title was a fantastic achievement for 23-yearold Billie Piper, who plays the Time Lord's sidekick Rose.

It was a particularly poignant because her emergence as an actress coincided with the break-up of her relationship with DJ Chris Evans.

The actress, who came to fame as a teenage pop singer before meeting 39-year-old Evans, beat Caroline Quentin and EastEnders favourites Jessie Wallace and June Brown.

Miss Piper, wearing a short black figure-hugging dress, said: 'Thank you so much. This means so much to me - I can't even begin to tell you.' Christopher Eccleston, 41, who played the Doctor, won in the best actor category, beating EastEnders favourites Shane Richie and Nigel Harman and also Martin Clunes. Eccleston, who quit after one series, was not present at the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

Doctor Who saw off competition from Desperate Housewives, The Bill and Bad Girls to take the most popular drama prize, presented by Tory leadership contenders David Davis and David Cameron.

The original series of Doctor Who ran from 1963 to 1989. Bringing it back was seen as a huge risk but it won millions of new fans and critical acclaim and was celebrated for being a show the whole family could watch together.

Doctor Who's night was nearly eclipsed by Wayne Rooney's fiancèe Coleen McLoughlin, 19, who wore £1million of jewellery by the designer Chopard. The glittering array included earrings worth £500,000, a £250,000 bracelet, and rings and a watch also together worth £250,000.

Jamie Oliver, 30, won a special recognition award for his work changing Government policy on school dinners. He also won the award for most popular factual programme for Jamie's School Dinners.

Heavy make-up failed to cover up a black eye. His wife Jools explained: 'He fell down the stairs at home and banged his face on the bathroom doorknob and that's the truth - honest. He's not a battered husband.'

The awards were decided by more than one million viewers who voted by phone and Internet. The show, presented by Sir Trevor McDonald, will be broadcast on ITV1 tonight.