Comic praised for his hosting debut

Jack Whitehall won plaudits for his first-time hosting of the Brit awards last night, successfully navigating what can be a minefield for any comedian. Here are a handful of his gags:

1. Sam Smith

'If you like Adele songs, but find them too upbeat, you're in for a treat as Sam Smith will be performing!

2. Ed Sheeran

'Is there anything he can't do?... Tan.'

3. Liam Payne and Cheryl

 Referring to One Direction star Liam as 'Cheryl's plus one', he quizzed the parents of one-year-old Bear about how their 'date night' was going, and asked: 'It's probably past his bedtime but is the little fella watching from home? Shall we give him a wave.

'Hello Niall.'

4. Liam Payne and Rita Ora's lukewarm duet

' ITV has not seen that much sexual chemistry since the Trump - Morgan interview.'

5. Ronnie Woods

'A just-about-living legend'

6. Olly Murs

After pyrotechnics during Rag'n'Bone Man's performance, Whitehall said: 'That was a controlled blaze. Apparently Olly Murs has been tweeting in the toilet telling everyone to evacuate'... as he did during a false terrorist alarm in London last year.

7. Harry Kane

'Our next presenter is a Tottenham striker... meaning the Brit Award he hands out tonight will probably be the only trophy he gets his hands on this season.'

8. Little Mix

'Last month you hit three billion views on YouTube... and only two billion of those are people watching you trying to do a Jamaican accent, Jesy.'

LOOK AT JESY'S REACTION TO THAT ACCENT JOKE #BRITs2018 pic.twitter.com/kZ32OgLU4k

— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) February 21, 2018

Whitehall took over the presenting job from last year's hosts Dermot O'Leary and Emma Willis.

Previous presenters praised him, with Ant and Dec tweeting that he'd done a 'great job' and his League Of Their Own Pal James Corden saying: 'Wonderful job at The Brits.. completely brilliant.'

Published: 22 Feb 2018