The British Comedy Awards have always been my favourite awards bash. Why? Simple: they're actually funny and entertaining in their own right, but never at the expense of their prestige. You might not always agree with the winners and losers, but they have their finger on the pulse more than most -- just look at their list of "best newcomers" who went on to become household names: Graham Norton, Steve Coogan, Chris Morris, Ardal O'Hanlon, Sacha Baron Cohen, Dylan Moran, Rob Brydon, Johnny Vegas, David Walliams, Catherine Tate, Russell Brand, Angus Deayton, and many more...This year's bash was televised (after being annoyingly dropped by ITV last year), but was without regular host Jonathan Ross, who has presided over the BCAs since they started in 1990. If you don't know why, you must have been hiding under a rock for the past few months. Angus Deayton filled Ross' shoes adequately, but I really hope Ross returns next year – it wasn't the same without him:
- The opening monologue, which is usually a comedy highlight of the evening. Deayton was uncharacteristically nervous to begin with, stumbling over his words quite a few times -- but that was understandable, given the fact everyone was waiting for him to reference the Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross furore. Which he did, of course – describing Radio 2's complainers as "30,000 self-righteous twats who never heard the programme in the first place."
- Alan Carr accepting his award for "Best Comedy Entertainment Personality", signing off with "thank you ever so much -- see you on Celeb Air!"
- Poor Kelly Brook, spared from a savaging about the difficulties of playing herself in next year's Moving Wallpaper, by Angus Deayton – who took pity on her, as she wandered into that obvious bear-trap.
- The touching tribute to TV producer Geoffrey Perkins, who died in a car accident a few months ago. Not a famous name for the people watching at home, but he was a creative force behind a dizzying amount of British comedy in the '80s, '90s and '00s.
- Russell Brand wasn't there in person, but he accepted his award for "Best Live Stand-Up" in a video recording with Adam Sandler, mentioning his prowess on the radio and Jonathan Ross' unfortunate absence.
- The dog rape clip used to introduce writer David Renwick, who's a legend thanks to his work with The Two Ronnies, One Foot In The Grave and Jonathan Creek. The dog clip came from Love Soup, and was so hilariously bad-taste I might be persuaded to check out that series!
- Who was the clichéd American guest, pretending they watch British comedy, but who can only reference '70s stuff like Benny Hill andAre You Being Served? Oh yes, it was Eva Mendes. Such a cliché. Only the words "Ricky Gervais" act as a comedy umbilical across the Atlantic these days.
- Also in America was Ricky Gervais, who had recorded an acceptance video sat in bed with George Michael. This was fairly funny, even if Ricky's comic arrogance and massive ego is becoming a very old joke. It was actually more interesting to hear a heckler condemning Ricky's absence in the background. We would later discover the loud, foulmouthed hater was one Kevin Bishop...
- Yes, Star Stories' Kevin Bishop was very, very drunk, wasn't he? After heckling Ricky's video, he proceeded to throw breadsticks, cutlery and bottles at the team behind The Inbetweeners – who had won the category he was nominated in. Clearly it was out of order, but it did provide the only moment of outrageous spectacle the BCAs are renowned for. He also swore loudly when James Corden accepted an award for Gavin & Stacy.
- Frank Skinner was on great form, presenting an award alongside the event's sponsor, a woman called Sally from Highland Water. Every sponsor of the BCAs gets savaged and ridiculed, especially as they're always dragged on to plug their product near the end, when everyone's rat-arsed. Still, it was funny seeing her squirm and Skinner landed several good blows -- on Deayton's ongoing BBC suspension, ITV phone votes, etc.
- Jasper Carrott winning a "Lifetime Achievement" award, although the term "winning" was a bit misleading. He received it, anyway. I feel a bit sorry for Jasp (stuck presenting that terrible, overcomplicated gameshow Goldenballs these days), but then I remember he's a multi-multi-millionaire who had shares in the company behind Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Anyway, I used to absolutely love his stand-up comedy -- although I came to it a bit late, in the early-'90s. He was definitely a pioneer of the conversational, alternative style that grew out of the '70s, so I was very pleased to see him honoured.
Overall, this wasn't the slickest or funniest BCA, but it was still enjoyable at times. It was just a pity the most famous winners (Gervais, Brand, Harry Hill) were all absent. It got slightly ridiculous when even Stephen Fry didn't turn up to receive an award for QI -- meaning occasional panellist Phil Jupitus had to accept it on Fry's behalf – despite the fact Jupitus is more strongly associated with QI's competitor Never Mind The Buzzcocks!
Deayton was also on autopilot, unable to inject life into the show away from his trusted autocue. And wasn't it ridiculous that James Corden had a piffling ten seconds to make a speech after Gavin & Stacy won, before the credits rolled over Deayton's voice-only farewell to ITV1 viewers? Minutes later, he was back on ITV2 to introduce the last three awards! Couldn't the show have been stretched 15-minutes longer on ITV1? Why couldn't Corden finish his speech over on ITV2?
Oh well. It was all a bit shambolic. What's the odds on Jonathan Ross' return next year?
6 December 2008
ITV1, 9.15pm / ITV2, 10.45pm
