The National Television Awards are more or less the UK’s answer to the USA’s The People’s Choice Awards. They leave it up to you, the regular viewer, to pick what shows and performers are the most entertaining.

Just like The People’s Choice Awards, The National Television Awards aren’t so much about critical acclaim as they are overall fan popularity. Both operate on a voting system where the viewing public ultimately chooses the nominees and the winners.

In the Drama category, Doctor Who faces stiff competition from Downton Abbey, Merlin, and Waterloo Road. As popular as all the shows are, it will most likely come down to a battle between Downton Abbey and Doctor Who. Last year, Doctor Who wasn’t represented in this category (first time since its reboot) and Downton Abbey took home the prize. This year they are head-to-head. Notably, Torchwood does not appear in this category.

In the Drama Performance Male category, we have a Torchwood and Doctor Who showdown featuring John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness and Matt Smith as The Doctor. Given that Torchwood had mixed fan reviews at best this past season, Smith will likely win this one. Martin Clunes and David Threlfall are also nominated, but probably don’t pose a serious threat. It speaks volumes from viewers that John Barrowman was included in this category, but the show Torchwood itself was not nominated. Viewers clearly appreciated Barrowman more than the show overall.

In the Drama Performance Female category, we have another Torchwood and Doctor Who match up featuring Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. Even though Myles was the standout performer in this season’s Torchwood with heart wrenching scenes when Gwen’s family was threatened, Karen Gillan was at the top of her game in Doctor Who particularly in the episodes The Impossible Astronaut, A Good Man Goes to War,The Girl Who Waited and The Wedding of River Song.Again, as in the Drama Performance Male category, viewers nominated Myles, but not the show. If nothing else, it’s perhaps a wake-up call to the creative team and future backers that viewers want more of the what is familiar about Torchwood—that being the Gwen/Jack dynamic.

Head on over to the National Television Awards to vote for your favorites. Voting ends on 22 January 2012. The results program will air on ITV on 25 January 2012. For American viewers, the majority of the programming is available on BBC America, PBS, or online.

Which will come out on top in your opinion Torchwood or Doctor Who? Do you think in the end that who “should win” will win?