Extra special Ashley is new queen of comedy

by HENRY MELLER, Daily Mail

Last updated at 16:34 15 December 2005


This time last year Ashley Jensen was an unknown actress working as an extra.

But last night - thanks to her role playing an unknown actress working as an extra - she was the star of the British Comedy Awards, walking away with two of the biggest prizes.

Miss Jensen stole the limelight from more established names such as Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, the stars of Little Britain and her co-star Ricky Gervais, by scooping not only the award for Best Comedy Newcomer but also the award for Best Television Comedy Actress.

The 36-year-old blonde, who plays Maggie, sidekick to Gervais's hapless Andy in the BBC2 comedy Extras, saw off competition from Tamsin Greig, the star of Channel 4's hit comedy Green Wing, and Catherine Tate, who had been widely tipped to scoop the award.

Miss Tate and her star character, the moody teenager Lauren whose catchphrase 'Am I bovvered?' has entered the public vernacular, are undoubtedly better known but were passed over by the panel of industry experts who decide the winners.

Although Miss Jensen made her first appearance in the obscure independent film Tickets for the Zoo 14 years ago, she had never had anything more than bit parts in anything before appearing in Extras.

Her awards formed part of a rare night of triumph for the BBC, which fared considerably better than its commercial rivals.

The BBC4 show The Thick Of It won the award for Britain's Best New Comedy, the much-criticised Little Britain took Best TV Comedy, and Chris Langham, the star of two BBC shows, won the award for Best Television Comedy Actor.

Langham's win, for his performances in the The Thick Of It and another BBC4 show, Help, represents a spectacular comeback for the 56-year-old.

He was one of the original line-up in the cult 1980s comedy Not the Nine O'Clock News, but was controversially kicked off the show in favour of Griff Rhys Jones.

He claimed recently that "no one has ever told me why", but his erratic lifestyle is believed to have been the reason, and soon after being replaced by the Welshman he checked himself into rehab.

ITV did have some success, with Paul O'Grady winning the battle of the talk show hosts against perennial favourites Ant and Dec and Jonathan Ross who, as usual, hosted the awards.

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