british comedy awards 2006

British Comedy Awards 2006

I actively look forward to this, so it was cool to live blog the whole

thing (here and here). I'm quite proud of what I wrote, so I thought

I'd repost here :) Each paragraph was a new update.

Pre-show: Just a few minutes to go! How outrageous do we think

Jonathan Ross's suit will be? And just for the record, I'm going to be

very biased. If Extras wins anything, I'm afraid I can't be held

accountable for my actions. Go Mitchell and Webb! Let's see...

The Jonathan Ross Opening Monologue - Well that suit's not ridiculous

at all! Never mind. I'm a big Jonathan Ross fan, and so this opening

monologue is always a highlight for me - he's friendly enough with all

the celebs to joke about them, and has a streak which means he always

goes that little bit too far. Chris Langham? Chris Tarrant? He didn't

skirt any comedy-related issues. Brilliant! His Russell Brand

impression was inevitable, and woeful, but then we expect nothing

less. I just wish he'd been even meaner about his big mate Ricky

Gervais... ah well, can't have everything. On with the awards!

Best Comedy Actor: Stephen Merchant - Well that's ok, I guess. Better

than Gervais winning anyway. Merchant was one of the very few things

that kept me watching Extras, so I suppose for that he really does

deserve this award. But it should have been Mitchell and Webb! Peep

Show would be nothing without their unique chemistry. They was robbed.

(Expect that phrase to pop up quite a few times tonight...)

Best Comedy Entertainment Programme: Harry Hill's TV Burp - Forget the

winner - look, it's Jack Black and Kyle Gass! I love Jack Black...

he's a proper star. Ok, to the winner: Harry Hill really deserves this

- he's incredibly talented (he makes You've Been Framed watchable

after all!) and it's a wonderful, very underrated show.

Best Comedy Entertainment Personality: Harry Hill - Not Ant and Dec?!

What's the world coming to? Well it's Harry's night, isn't it? And

quite right too, he's a great mix of family-favourite and utterly

bizarre nutter. Oh, and there's a 24-foot long python on the loose.

Now there's a line I didn't expect to write...

Best Comedy Newcomers: Charlotte Church and Russell Brand - Charlotte

Church? Well she's unintentionally funny, I'll give her that. And as

for Russell Brand, his stand-up is wonderful but I've never quite

'got' him as a tv presenter. Then again, there's no denying he's

become a massive name this year, and really there was always only one

winner. And thank goodness he's mentioned the animal cruelty...

Best Comedy Actress: Catherine Tate - Unfortunately, for me this

wasn't a strong category. Catherine Tate is in an awful sketch show,

Katherine Parkinson's IT Crowd was hugely disappointing, and I've

never been a fan of Tamsin Greig. Oh dear.

While we listen to the "mighty" Chris Tarrant, I'll start a new

post...

So we're half way through the main awards! Harry Hill has been justly

rewarded and we've witnessed the abuse of an impossibly massive snake.

An actual snake. Follow me over the cut for more reactions... ooh, and

vote for Mitchell and Webb in the People's Choice Award!

Best New TV Comedy: Star Stories - Whaaaaaaaattttt??? I thought

Mitchell and Webb were a shoe-in for this, but apparently not. Star

Stories has completely passed me by. Hmm, I'm upset now. Oooh look

Madonna! It's a good job I've got a short attention span...

Sacha Baron Cohen, like Russell Brand has been everywhere this year,

and so it's only right that he's been honoured here. Isn't it weird to

hear his normal speaking voice?

Best TV Comedy: Peep Show - YYYYYYEEEESSSSSSSSS! IN YOUR FACE EXTRAS!

I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I'm so happy! This series

of Peep Show was the best yet, as they allowed a little warmth every

now and then, and that's no bad thing. Plus, of course its innovative

direction and fantastic performances make it a real modern sit-com

classic. Peep Show, we salute you.

People's Choice Award: Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - Well

did we expect anything else? But you can't not like Ant and Dec, can

you? They're pure pint-sized entertainment and Saturday nights

wouldn't be the same without them. And I always love the sponsor's

representative trying to be funny... and she didn't do too badly, did

she? Bless her.

Best Stage Comedy: Little Britain - Poor Mighty Boosh. Poor beautiful,

funny, talented Mighty Boosh. Poor beautiful, funny, talented,

should-have-won Mighty Boosh. Actually, Matt Lucas and David Walliams

have had a bit of an undeserved backlash recently - while the third

series of Little Britain was not exactly brilliant, they're still very

talented. See, I can be gracious when I want! (Poor Mighty Boosh....)

Right, see you over on ITV2!

Best Live Stand-up Tour: Jimmy Carr - I have a confession. I quite

like Jimmy Carr. I know that's not cool to admit, but he makes me

giggle against my will. If I were trying to keep my reputation though,

I'd say that Ross Noble should have won.

Best International Comedy Show: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Again I'm going

to be uncool and say that the American Office should have won. It's

nothing like our Office - which was brilliant, it's only the latest

series of Extras that I dislike - but that doesn't mean that it's not

great. But then so's Curb Your Enthusiasm... I can live with this.

Best Comedy Film: Wallace and Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit -

Well, Nick Park may not be all that great in a 'speech' situation, but

he's brought Wallace and Gromit into our lives, and for that he is a

genius and a national treasure. Let's go backstage!

So here we are backstage. Isn't this cosy? You guys can listen to

Tenacious D, I'm off to find the Boosh... only joking. Ooh it's Lucas

and Walliams, who, you'll remember, I was surprisingly nice about

given my all-too-evident Boosh obsession. They really are massive,

aren't they, and you simply can't take that away from them. I'm not

ashamed to say that I am looking forward to the Little Britain

Christmas Specials. Yes, ladies and sirs, the Little Britain

rehabilitation starts here.

This show is an absolute shambles! Not even an enjoyable shambles

really... just Liza Tarbuck looking bewildered, Russell Howard looking

embarrassed, and a load of drunk people talking over each other. Not

exactly classic viewing, is it?! Why are we listening to Mylene Klass?

There's seriously talented people in that room and we're listening to

Mylene?! Get it togther, Tarbuck!

Courtney Love and Noel Fielding! That's the greatest combination ever.

EVER. Other than Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, of course. Oh the

Boosh should have won their category... they're so innovative, and

creative, and endearing, and laugh-out-loud funny. Next year, my

friends, next year.

So, we've come to the end of a long evening, and what have we learnt?

That That Mitchell and Webb Look has been criminally overlooked, that

Harry Hill has been justly rewarded, that Peep Show is better than

Extras (though we already knew that, of course) and that 24-foot

pythons and drunk comedians just don't mix. You win some, you lose

some. Night all, and thanks for sticking with me.

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If only it were always that fun to write a thousand words! Basically,

the awards went as planned, but with the wonderful exception of Peep

Show beating Extras, and the travesty of Star Stories beating That M+W

Look (though to be fair I've not seen Star Stories but I bet they

don't play Numberwang on it).

Also, it proved what we said all along, that apart from the People's