Three Emmy nods for his US debut

Ali G has been nominated for three Emmy awards in the States.

The Staines homeboy's first venture across the Atlantic received a lukewarm response from critics at the time, but attracted a respectable audience for the HBO cable network.

Now Da Ali G Show is in line for three of American TV's most respected awards in categories for non-fiction programmes

Sacha Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer and the other writers are up for an award for their script; James Bobin has been nominated for directing it; and the show as a whole is on the shortlist for best non-fiction prgramme (alternative)

Ali G said: "Checkit, I iz well happy to go along to de Emmys, not only coz I iz gonna try and win an award [or nick one] but more importantly coz me iz gonna try and touch Jennifer Aniston's Golden Globes - a'ight."

The Emmy nominations have a familiar ring to them this year - led by Six Feet Under and the West Wing.

Everybody Loves Raymond and Sex And The City are the most-nominated comedies, with 13 nods each, followed by Will And Grace (12), Friends (11) and Curb Your Enthusiasm (10).

However, less established shows have largely been overlooked. For example, the acclaimed medical comedy Scrubs - shown here on Sky One and Channel 4 - only has one nomination - for best casting.

There are 27 Emmys covering all aspects of prime-time TV, including two awards for best hairdressing and four for make-up.

Published: 18 Jul 2003