The Office triumphs at Montreux

The Office has won one of the top international TV awards ­ even though some of the judges did not get the joke.

Ricky Gervais's show was honoured as best sitcom at the Rose d'Or festival in Montreux, Switzerland, even though it almost failed to get past the pre-selection phase.

In the comedy category, ITV1's All New Harry Hill Show triumphed after its producers told judges Hill was "one of the most original minds in British television". Channel 4's sketch show Smack the Pony was runner-up.

Your Face or Mine?, the Jimmy Carr-fronted show in which couples have to rate the relative good looks of friends and strangers, won best game show.

The ground-breaking reality show Faking It scooped the festival's top award, the prestigious Golden Rose.

A silver and bronze award is then handed out in each category. The runner-up in the sitcom section was the Canadian comedy Puppets Who Kill.

Channel 4's The Richard Taylor Interviews and Shoreditch Twat, a one-off from the Comedy Lab strand, also received special mentions.

Andy Bird, who chaired the grand jury, said: "The jury was very impressed by the standard of every category winner and, in particular, felt that the British sitcom The Office had taken that genre on to its next level."

Published: 18 May 2003