BBC Two sitcom Boy Meets Girl and EastEnders have both been shortlisted for their portrayal of transgender issues.
Transgender actress Rebecca Root and the first ever transgender actor in a TV soap opera, Riley Carter Millington, have also been nominated.
Nick Grimshaw, Boy George and Sue Perkins are among the other nominees.
Sarah Garrett, founder of the awards, explained: "The British LGBT Awards are vital in highlighting those who have done good by the LGBT community and are also important in promoting LGBT acceptance."
"The commissioning of Boy Meets Girl was a particularly landmark moment in British television history as was the introduction of a transgender character to Eastenders.
"The BBC should be proud of its commitment to diversity and groundbreaking coverage of LGBT issues," she said.
Speaking in August last year, actress Rebecca Root, who plays Judy in Boy Meets Girl said: "I really believe that it will demystify my community, it will increase the visibility of the trans population.
"In a way it's a shame, it's 2015 for goodness sake, and we're only having this conversation now. But better late than never."
The British LGBT Awards take place at London's Grand Connaught Rooms on 13 May.
Here are the nominees...
Alan Carr
Boy George
Caitlyn Jenner
Ru Paul
Kieron Richardson
Ruby Rose
Ben Whishaw
Dustin Lance Black
Adele
Jess Glynne
Halsey
Little Mix
Zayn Malik
Frank Ocean
Sam Smith
Years and Years
Cher
Jennifer Saunders
Hillary Clinton
Stephen Fry
Lady Gaga
Sir Ian McKellen
Bette Midler
George Takei
Eddie Redmayne
Danny Dyer
Nigella Lawson
Holly Willoughby
Brian May
Kim Cattrall
James Sutton
Zoe Sugg (Zoella)
Olly Alexander
Rebecca Root
Jake Graff
Hannah Hart
Sean Miley Moore
Philip Armstrong
David Morgan
Rose and Rosie
Clare Balding
Vicki Beeching
Nick Grimshaw
Evan Davis
Paul O'Grady
RuPaul
Sue Perkins
Gok Wan
Boy Meets Girl, BBC
Caitlyn Jenner, Vanity Fair cover
Eastenders transgender storyline, BBC
Hollyoak HIV storyline, Lime Pictures/ Channel 4
London Spy, BBC
Mhairi Black MP elected to Parliament
Ireland votes for marriage equality
Gay marriage in USA
Nicola Adams
John Amaechi
Keegan Hirst
Nigel Owens
Mark McAdam
Sam Stanley
Heather Stanning
Casey Stoney

The cuts include 190 management jobs and 400 non-management staff working at its head office in Hong Kong.
In March, the airline said it would save 30% in employee costs at its head office after it posted its first annual loss in eight years.
The cuts are part of a three year programme to turn around the losses.
The airline said in a statement that the job cuts would be complete by the end of the year, with most of the affected employees to be informed on Monday, and over the next month.
The changes will be overseen by the airline's new chief executive, Rupert Hogg, who replaced Ivan Chu Kwok-leung earlier this month.
Mr Hogg cited increasing competition and a challenging business outlook for what he called "tough but necessary decisions for the future of our business and our customers".
Cathay has been facing tough competition from Chinese and Middle Eastern airlines that have expanded rapidly in the Asia Pacific region.
Earlier this year, it posted a net loss of HK$575m ($74m; Â£60.1m) for 2016. It was only the third time the firm posted a full-year loss in its 70 year history.
The shortlist for the annual British LGBT Awards has been announced with the BBC nominated multiple times.
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Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific has said it will cut nearly 600 jobs as part of the biggest restructuring in 20 years.