Thick of It stars pick up top comedy awards

Thu, 13 Dec, 2012 - 07:36

They played arch-rivals in political satire 'The Thick Of It', but Rebecca Front and Peter Capaldi shared the glory at the British Comedy Awards.

Capaldi was named Best TV Comedy Actor for his role as foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker while Front won the Best TV Comedy Actress award for her portrayal of hapless politician Nicola Murray.

Her success meant there was no win for Olivia Colman, who was nominated in the category for two different roles – in Olympic satire 'Twenty Twelve' and the sitcom 'Rev'.

Capaldi saw off competition from 'Downton Abbey' star Hugh Bonneville, who got a nod for his 'Twenty Twelve' role, along with Tom Hollander for Rev and Steve Coogan.

Ali G and Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen won a special award for Outstanding Achievement – more than a decade after he was named Best Newcomer.

Other winners include Charlie Brooker, named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality, and Harry Hill, whose TV Burp show was named the Best Comedy Entertainment Programme.

The award for Best Sitcom saw 'The Thick Of It', 'Rev' and 'Twenty Twelve' all lose out to Julia Davis' SKY show 'Hunderby', which was also named Best New Comedy Programme.

The viewing public were also asked to vote for the King or Queen of Comedy with Alan Carr, Graham Norton, David Mitchell, Jack Whitehall, Lee Mack and Sarah Millican in the running.

The show, sponsored by Foster’s, was hosted by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4 last night.