Dame Judi Dench is among those spearheading the charge for British success at the Golden Globes.

She is nominated for best actress in a film drama for her starring role alongside Steve Coogan in Philomena.

Other actresses nominated for the top prize are Emma Thompson for Saving Mr Banks, Kate Winslet for Labor Day, Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine and Sandra Bullock for Gravity.

British actors Idris Elba and Chiwetel Ejiofor have received two nominations each.

Elba is nominated for best actor in a motion picture for his performance as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.

He is also recognised in the best actor in a mini-series or TV movie for his role as the troubled detective in BBC's Luther.

Ejiofor is nominated in the same category for another BBC drama -Dancing On The Edge - while his role in Steve McQueen's epic 12 Years A Slave gets him a nod for best actor in a motion picture.

The awards, organised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are seen as a pointer for who will win next year's Oscars.

12 Years a Slave, based on the true story of New Yorker Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and sold into slavery as an adult, has seven nominations including best picture.

The other nominees are Gravity, Captain Phillips, Rush and Philomena.

ITV's Downton Abbey is recognised with a nomination for best TV series drama along with Breaking Bad, The Good Wife, Masters Of Sex and the US remake of 1980s political thriller House of Cards.

Coldplay are nominated for original song for Atlas, which featured in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, along with Ordinary Love by U2 from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.

Justin Timberlake is nominated for Please Mr Kennedy, which he co-wrote with US directors the Cohen brothers for the film Inside Llewyn Davis.