In 2006 he will sit on the board of the Festival of Muslim Cultures, a series of events across Britain. He retains a profound positivity, noting that technological innovations mean that his disability will not necessarily prevent future opportunities for pursuing his interest in such activities as paragliding and skiing, or reporting for the BBC.Most admirable of all, perhaps, is his continued "respect" for a religion and culture in whose name he was so callously attacked, while preparing a report on the terror threat to Saudi oil installations. He was shot six times by a gang which greeted him in Arabic with the words "peace be upon you" before opening fire on him and killing his cameraman and friend Simon Cumbers.His response to the shooting has been remarkable on so many levels. "I know so many Muslims who drink alcohol and break the fast - nothing wrong with that, it's up to them - but if I were going to do it I would have to do it wholeheartedly. I didn't think that was going to be very compatible with my life."Because of an attack made some two decades later in the name of Islam, Gardner will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair - only occasionally rising to his full height with the aid of callipers. He has gratitude for his "good innings" as an able-bodied man, travelling the world, running marathons and teaching his children to Rollerblade. "What attracted me to it was that it seemed to provide a very complete way of life that made a lot of people very happy," he says. After much thought he decided he could not commit to the demands of the religion.
"I thought that if I was going to do it I would have to do it properly and pray five times a day," he says. In his early 20s, while living in Egypt, he thought deeply about converting to Islam. Frank Gardner, the BBC's security correspondent, who 18 months ago was the victim of an attempted assassination by fanatical Islamists in a suburb of the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, came very close to becoming a Muslim himself. Channel 4 is strong in comedy drama, where it has two out of the three nominations, for Not Only But Always and Shameless.Ant and Dec get a couple of nominations as does Jonathan Ross. The cheeky young duo go head to head with the comparative veteran Ross for best comedy entertainment personality and best comedy entertainment programme.
Their competition for the former is Paul O'Grady and in the latter category, The X Factor.Festival, the FilmFour/ Film Council/ Scottish Screen-backed take on life on the Edinburgh fringe, is nominated for best comedy film against the acclaimed mid-life crisis and wine story, Sideways, and the children's animation, The Incredibles.The Simpsons, Kath & Kim and Curb Your Enthusiasm battle it out for the best international show.. Ashley Jensen secures a couple of nominations for her performance as Gervais's somewhat gormless friend, Maggie, in Extras.She is shortlisted for best television comedy actress against Tamsin Greig, for both Green Wing and Love Soup, and Catherine Tate, whose cast of comedy characters includes the stroppy teenager with the mantra "Am I bovvered?"Jensen is also up for best newcomer against David Mitchell for his frequent appearances on Peep Show, Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week and FAQ U, and Chris Addison, known to Edinburgh festival fans as a Perrier Prize contender but making a television splash as a junior policy advisor in The Thick of It.The BBC, and BBC2 in particular, dominates the straight comedy categories while ITV is in contention for comedy entertainment. Ricky Gervais, who was defeated at last year's British Comedy Awards by the Little Britain team, returns to the fight this year with a record five nominations for his new show, Extras. The battle between the funny men follows a number of well-publicised gibes by Gervais apparently aimed at the Little Britain creators, David Walliams and Matt Lucas. When the duo recently launched merchandising including Little Britain dolls and embarked on a giant tour, Gervais revealed he had refused to allow toys of his David Brent character from The Office. "If you look at it as a career, it's foolish," he said "You've got to hold out. It might be funny to have a tacky Brent doll and it'd probably sell well - but it's a con.