Greg Dyke resigned in January after the Hutton Report

It said Mr Dyke was "noisily his own man" and "battled the establishment" during his 27 years in broadcasting.

Mr Dyke resigned in January after the critical findings of the Hutton inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly.

The BBC took 17 of the 27 RTS Programme Awards on Tuesday, with prizes for The Office Christmas specials, Little Britain and The Secret Policeman.

RTS PROGRAMME AWARDS - MAIN WINNERS Actor (female) Kate Ashfield, This Little Life, BBC Two Actor (male) David Morrissey, The Deal, Channel 4 Comedy performance Little Britain, BBC Three Drama serial State of Play, BBC One Drama series Spooks, BBC One Entertainment Little Britain, BBC Three Single documentary The Secret Policeman, BBC One Situation comedy and comedy Drama The Office Christmas specials, BBC One Soap Coronation Street, ITV Writer Paul Abbott, State of Play, BBC One

After receiving his honour, Mr Dyke described best sitcom winner The Office as "a piece of genius".

He said undercover investigation The Secret Policeman, which was named best documentary, was "the most important programme" shown during his time at the BBC.

Mr Dyke told the audience at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London that "events in January were pretty unpleasant" but thanked BBC staff who rallied in support.

"I would just like to say to them I felt very privileged to be their leader for four years."

He added: "It's funny, isn't it? No-one ever applauded me like this when I was in work. It's been a funny year."

The BBC's director of television, Jana Bennett, said the awards were testament to the "fantastic talent" at the BBC and in independent production companies.