Jonathan Ross up for Comedy Award

14 November 2008 08:18am

Jonathan Ross has been nominated for a British Comedy Award - despite having to pull out as host of the ceremony because of the Andrew Sachs controversy.

Russell Brand, 33, who resigned from the BBC over the pair's lewd phone call to the Fawlty Towers actor, is up for Best Live Stand-Up Performer.

Jonathan, 47, who was meant to be hosting the awards for the 17th year and pocketing an estimated £100,000 to do so, is up for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme for Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.

But the long-running BBC One chat-show is currently off-air as part of Jonathan's three-month suspension without pay from the BBC.

The Corporation was thrown into crisis after the pair left a message on Sachs' answering machine, which was played on Russell's Saturday night Radio 2 show, boasting that Russell had slept with the 78-year-old actor's granddaughter.

Jonathan, whose show is up against Harry Hill's TV Burp (ITV1) and The Sunday Night Project (Channel 4), ducked out of the British Comedy Awards following his suspension.

Russell is up against Alan Carr and Michael McIntyre for the Best Live Stand-Up award.

Other nominees include cult comedy Gavin And Stacey, which is up for Best TV Comedy Actor for James Corden, who's also the show's co-creator, and Best TV Comedy of 2008.

Other nominees at the awards include Ricky Gervais, Ashley Jensen, Ant and Dec and Graham Norton.

The awards will be broadcast live on ITV1 on Saturday December 6.

© The Press Association