Toast Of London wins prestigious Rose d'Or award
Toast Of London, the Channel 4 sitcom in which Matt Berry plays a second-rate actor, has won a prestigious international prize.
The comedy picked up the Golden Rose Award for sitcom at the 53rd Rose d'Or Awards. Writers Matt Berry and Arthur Mathews picked up the award in person at the ceremony in Berlin.
The judges noted the show, produced by Objective Productions, had become "an instant critical hit".
A citation explained the show was "described by The Independent as 'Genius', 'A tour de force' by Time Out, and 'a sitcom you love so much you want to hug it, slap it on the back and buy it a round of drinks' by the Radio Times. As well the Rose D'Or, the show, which also features songs by Berry, has thus far been nominated for both a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society award, both for Best Sitcom."
The comedy beat Sky's homegrown hit Yonderland and Australia's Please Like Me to win the category.
Phil Clarke, head of comedy at Channel 4, says: "After receiving Bafta and RTS nominations last year, I'm delighted that Toast Of London has now won a Rose D'Or. It's an authentic Channel 4 comedy; powered by quirky and inventive writing, performed by an outstanding cast, and made by a dedicated production team. The result is a very funny and truly original show - there's nothing else like it on our TV screens."
Both Yonderland and Toast Of London have been recommissioned for second series.
Israeli comedy Little Mom beat Keith Lemon vehicle Through The Keyhole in the general TV Comedy category.
This year's Rose d'Or category for radio comedy was dominated by BBC productions, with Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang Ups, Bridget Christie Minds The Gap and Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation nominated.
It was Bridget Christie's feminist-themed stand-up show that triumphed. The judges noted: "At time of commissioning, Bridget and the producers weren't certain what the audience reaction would be. Comedy and feminism didn't seem an obvious winner. In fact the response was immediate and overwhelming.
"Women, including teenage girls, immediately contacted Bridget and the BBC and the response was due chiefly to her intuitive abilities as a comic, writer and broadcaster. This was Bridget's first radio show and she immediately adapted to the intimacy of radio as a medium, talking to the audience at home as much as the one in the theatre. She understood the need to draw her audience into the listeners' world, paint pictures in their heads and take them on a journey with her."
A second series of Bridget Christie Minds The Gap has been ordered by Radio 4.
Elsewhere in the awards, Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman's BBC format Pointless won in the Game Show category, and Gogglebox narrated by Caroline Aherne took away the Reality and Factual Entertainment prize.
For more details on the awards visit www.rosedor.com
Below is a clip from Series 1 of Toast Of London: