Brand honours absent Ross at comedy awards Russell Brand was named Best Live Stand-up Performer at the British Comedy Awards last night and he dedicated his award to his fellow BBC exile, Jonathan Ross. Accepting the honour from Los Angeles, where he is promoting his new film, Bedtime Stories, Brand said: 'It is a pity he is not there. The comedy awards are not the same without Jonathan.'
Because of the three-month suspension meted out to Ross following his controversial Radio 2 broadcast with Brand in October, which was censored by BBC bosses, the awards ceremony in London was compered this year by Angus Deayton - an ironic choice, given that Deayton himself was dropped from a high-profile role on the BBC television show Have I Got News For You in 2002 following scandals surrounding his personal life.
Deayton said that Brand could not attend the ceremony as he was on a beach in Hawaii - no doubt 'distraught' at losing his Radio 2 slot.
In a short speech to the London audience, Brand, who was accompanied by his co-star, the actor Adam Sandler, talked about his radio show. 'I am very good on the wireless,' he said. 'It is where I come to life. I am edgy.'
Brand is spending his time in America developing a remake of the 1981 comedy Arthur, originally starring Dudley Moore.
Earlier in the evening Deayton made jokes about the contentious phone calls made to Andrew Sachs, the 78-year-old actor, by Brand and Ross on the Radio 2 show. 'Normally it's the winners who can't be here tonight, but in this case it's the host,' he said.
Referring to the volume of complaints the calls had generated, he criticised the '30,000 self-righteous t**ts who never heard the programme in the first place'. And he suggested that Ross must be waiting at home wondering if the phone would ever ring again - perhaps giving him an insight into the life of his brother, Paul Ross.
Last night's trophy for the Best TV Comedy Actor went to Ricky Gervais for last year's Extras Christmas Special on BBC1 and the Best TV Comedy title was claimed by the BBC3 show Gavin and Stacey
The American actor Alec Baldwin presented the Best Comedy Entertainment Personality award to Alan Carr, who had been beaten by Brand in the stand-up category. The award was in recognition of his Channel 4 shows The Friday Night Project and The Sunday Night Project.
The title for Best TV Comedy Actress was won by Sharon Horgan for Pulling on BBC3, and the Best Comedy Entertainment Programme award went to Harry Hill, a multiple award winner over the years, for his TV Burp show on ITV1. The Best TV Comedy Drama was BBC3's Drop Dead Gorgeous and the Best Comedy Panel Show was QI on BBC2.
Ronnie Corbett presented writer David Renwick, the creator of One Foot In The Grave and Jonathan Creek, with the Ronnie Barker Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award, while Jasper Carrott received a Lifetime Achievement award from Robert Powell, his former co-star inthe comedy series The Detectives.
An Outstanding Contribution to Comedy award went to the late television producer Geoffrey Perkins.
Deayton paid tribute to the memory of his former colleague, who was killed in a car accident earlier this year.
Observer
