Miranda Hart

Picture: Miranda Hart's hunky Gary

Miranda star Tom Ellis strips
for gay magazine Attitude...

Miranda Hart makes drama debut in 'Call the Midwife'

Comedian Miranda Hart plays it straight for a change, making her drama debut in Call the Midwife.

Miranda Hart denies replacing Alesha Dixon on Strictly

Miranda Hart has ruled herself out of the running for a judging role on Strictly Come Dancing.

Bear Grylls' trip is not for faint harted Miranda Hart

Comedian Miranda Hart revealed she is riddled with insecurities - after freaking out during a TV trip with adventurer Bear Grylls.

Miranda Hart cracks no women gag at Sports Personality

Talk about choosing your moment to make a point... Comedian Miranda Hart stunned BBC Sports Personality of the Year host Gary Lineker with a jibe at the fact no women were nominated for the gong.

No new 'Miranda' until late 2012

Miranda Hart's role in a new midwife drama means there will be no new episodes of her hit sitcom until autumn 2012.

With Fridays being the unofficial stand-up night of the week (­seriously, check out tonight's telly - so much comedy there's not even room to swing a cat-sized reality show around), the award ceremony dedicated to all things funny sits among welcoming surroundings.

Jonathan Ross is on hosting duties so, as the show is live, we hope somebody at Channel 4 HQ has their quickest finger poised over the "bleep" button.

Those hoping to make winners' speeches include Miranda Hart, who deservedly won best new TV comedy and best comedy actress last year.

She's up for a ­whopping four awards this time, including the people's choice gong, which is voted for by us.

But the category's a toughie this year, with the marvellous Jo Brand and Sarah Millican also hoping to steal the honours. In our eyes, they all deserve to win.

The male awards aren't any easier to predict, with David Mitchell, Graham Norton and Jack Whitehall fighting to be named the nation's favourite male ­comedian (although, given the year he's had, John Bishop should have been up).

While all the names we've mentioned deserve their nominations, there are some categories where you get the impression one or two shows are just in there to make up the numbers.

But as this is comedy night and we're in such a jolly mood, we won't be so cruel as to name them.

Channel 4 is showing the shindig for a second year running, with Jonathan Ross at the helm. After Gervais's attention-grabbing turn at the Golden Globes this year, Ross might have to raise the rudeness bar.

Last year we had Brian Cox warning us that a big bit of space rock was going to fall to Earth, while Miranda Hart received a hat-trick of gongs and was overcome by the presence of Simon Le Bon.

With the cream of Britain's comic writers and actors all together in one room, we watch with the expectation of spontaneous laughs and off-the-cuff wit, even if we have to sit through the boring thank yous. That's if Ross lets them get a word in edgeways...

Now in their 21st year, the British Comedy Awards have long served as a bellwether for the state of British comedy, from the quirky satire of the early 1990s, through the energetic sketch shows of the mid- to late-90s, to the recent success of family-friendly stand-up comics like Peter Kay, Michael McIntyre and John Bishop. Thanks to a sharp host, a ready supply of funny clips and a suitably witty audience, they've also been one of the few live awards ceremonies actually worth watching.

Tonight's event is hosted live by Jonathan Ross. Leading the nominees is Miranda Hart, who is up for four awards, while Harry Hill gets three nods. Hart, last year's Queen of Comedy winner, is up for the award again, with David Mitchell, Telegraph agony uncle Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall, Jo Brand and Sarah Millican also in the running. Tamsin Greig and Tom Rosenthal are nominated for best TV comedy actress and best comedy breakthrough artist respectively for their roles in Friday Night Dinner, while Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner have been singled out for their contribution to Outnumbered. Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville receives a nomination for his role in the Olympic comedy Twenty Twelve.