Gongs galore for Britain’s Golden Globetrotters

BRITAIN’S stars shone at the Golden Globes with singer Adele, actress Dame Maggie Smith and actor Damian Lewis among the homegrown talent to be honoured at the glittering Hollywood ceremony.

Dame Maggie was the first Briton of the night to win, receiving her award for best supporting actress in a TV mini-series for her role as Violet Crawley in ITV’s Downton Abbey.

But the veteran actress, who did not attend the Los Angeles event, missed out on a second gong for best actress in a comedy or musical in her latest film, Quartet.

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Adele gushed “oh my God” as she took to the stage with co-writer Paul Epworth to collect their award for their theme tune to the latest James Bond movie Skyfall, which was named best original song for a motion picture.

The singer, who was making her first public appearance since the birth of her first child in October, said: “This is for my boyfriend Simon, who convinced me to do it, and for my lovely son – thank you so much.”

But despite the public dedication, she declined to share the baby’s name. Asked backstage, she said: “It’s very personal.”

Homeland star Damian Lewis paid tribute to his late mother as he picked up the best TV drama actor award for his role as ex-US Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody,

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“I’d like to dedicate this to my mum, looking down on me bursting with pride, telling everyone around her how well her son is doing in acting,” said Lewis.

His co-star Claire Danes picked up a matching best actress Globe for her role as troubled CIA agent Carrie Mathison and the show was named best TV drama series.

British-Irish star Daniel Day-Lewis received one of the biggest awards of the night, collecting the trophy for best actor in a drama for his lead role as former US president Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.

The Civil War epic – which had been expected to be one of the night’s biggest success stories, but left with just one award – had been introduced earlier in the evening by former president Bill Clinton.

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Picking up his prize, Day-Lewis joked: “Are you sure there’s room for another ex-president on this stage?”

Lincoln missed out on the prize for best dramatic picture to Iran hostage thriller Argo, which also collected the best director award for Ben Affleck.

The film version of stage hit Les Miserables was one of the night’s biggest winners, taking home three gongs in the musical or comedy category, but British director Tom Hooper missed out.

The adaptation – based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel – scooped the award for best movie, while leading man Hugh Jackman was named best actor for his role as Jean Valjean.

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The Australian spoke glowingly of Hooper in his acceptance speech, telling the audience: “Les Miserables is a project of passion. It took a lot of courage to make it. Thank you for hiring the visionary Tom Hooper, without you mate, I would not be standing here.”

Anne Hathaway also picked up the prize for best supporting actress for her part as Fantine.

“Thank you for this lovely blunt object that I will forevermore use as a weapon against self-doubt,” she said.

The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence won the award for best musical or comedy actress for her latest role in the offbeat romance Silver Linings Playbook.

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“What does this say? I beat 
Meryl,” joked the American actress, who had been up against multiple Globe winner Meryl Streep.

The much-hyped HBO show Girls swept the TV comedy category, winning best series as well as the best actress award for creator, writer and star Lena Dunham.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to actress Jodie Foster, who used her acceptance speech to come out and pay tribute to her former partner and two sons.

The 50-year-old Oscar-winner, who has been reluctant to discuss her sexual orientation, was coy at first, suggesting she had a big announcement that would make her publicist nervous.

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Then she said: “I’m just going to put it out there, loud and proud... I am, uh, single,” pausing for 
dramatic effect before the last word.

“I hope you’re not disappointed there won’t be a big coming-out speech tonight. I already did my coming-out about a thousand years ago,” she told the audience.