Comedian Steve Coogan has won the Outstanding Achievement award at this year’s British Comedy Awards.
The British Comedy Awards, which will be held tomorrow night at a ceremony in London, awarded Coogan the special prize the day before the event.
The Fast Show’s Paul Whitehouse has been named as this year’s recipient of the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Award, while American comedy actor Will Ferrell has scooped the International Achievement Award.
Talking about his award, Coogan said: “I can honestly say I am almost humbled by having my modest contribution to the world of comedy be pronounced ‘Outstanding’. Over the last 25 years I have worked with many wonderful people and a few bastards. Of the many epithets I have received – cutting edge, acerbic, incisive, one trick pony, visionary and ‘depressingly popular’ (Time Out) – Outstanding is perhaps the most flattering.
“Of all the accolades I have received the most gratifying is undoubtedly Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival and then probably this one. Although I don’t pay enough attention to the comedy Zeitgeist, preferring instead to watch reruns of Nazi-Hunters on the Military channel, it is never the less an honour to be recognised among my peers. I can only hope that one day my epitaph will read Here lies Alan Partridge AKA Steve Coogan. God bless you all”
Anchorman star Will Ferrell said: “I’d love to say how honoured and thrilled I am to be receiving this award; I’d love to say how honoured I am to be held in such high regard by the British comedy community but, at this juncture, I think it would be more prudent to say: no comment.”
The British Comedy Awards will be broadcast live on Channel 4 tomorrow night (Thursday December 12th) at 9pm.
