Former Ally McBeal star Peter MacNicol has been stripped of his Emmy nomination for his performance in political satire Veep.

MacNicol, who was nominated for the outstanding guest actor in a comedy award, was deemed ineligible because he appeared in too many episodes of the series to count as a guest.

Actor Peter MacNicol smiles at the 53rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles,(Reed Saxon/AP)

Performers must appear in less than half the series to qualify, according to Emmy rules, but MacNicol edged over the limit by appearing in five out of 10 episodes.

MacNicol, 62, is no longer listed on the Emmys website as a nominee in the category, leaving Tracy Morgan, Larry David, Bob Newhart, Bradley Whitford and Martin Mull as current contenders for the prize. A new nominee is expected to be announced soon.

The character actor, who has already won an Emmy for his portrayal of lawyer John Cage in Ally McBeal, was nominated for his role as Jeff Kane in the HBO comedy, which was created by Armando Iannucci.

David E. Kelley and the cast of With his Ally McBeal co-stars (Chris Pizzello/AP)

The Television Academy, the body that votes for the awards, told The Hollywood Reporter: “Upon review of the guest actor in a comedy series category, the Television Academy has determined that Peter MacNicol unfortunately exceeds the number of episodes permissible for inclusion in that category.

“HBO’s guest actor entry for Peter MacNicol was accurate at the time of the submission deadline, but he was subsequently included in an additional Veep episode.

“Unfortunately, that additional appearance places him in 50% of the season’s episodes and makes him no longer eligible to compete in the guest actor category.

“This decision is in no way a diminishment of Mr MacNicol’s stellar performance on this season of Veep. A new nominee for guest actor in a comedy series will be announced shortly.”

HBO told the trade magazine that an honest mistake had been made, saying: “At the time of the May 2 entry deadline, the late-airing episodes of Veep and, therefore, their credits did not yet exist.

“The information we received from the production was that Peter MacNicol was eligible as a guest star because he would appear in only four episodes.

“We are very sorry that Peter’s brilliant performance will not be recognised.”

He appeared in a fifth episode later in the series when he is seen for around 10 seconds.