International award for royal sitcom

Henry IX, the Gold sitcom about a fictional King, has won the prestigious award for best sitcom at the Rose d’Or international TV festival.

And Phoebe Waller-Bridge's  Fleabag added to its tally of accolades by scooping the best comedy category.

Jason Manford-fronted Bigheads won best gameshow, and the UK’s tally of four gongs was completed by Young Men, a feature film by BalletBoyz  about  a group of young soldiers as they experience the indiscriminate brutality of warfare

As previously announced,  James Corden won the  inaugural Entertainer of the Year award. Speaking from Los Angeles, he said he was ‘truly honoured, adding: ‘It truly means the world to me…. The truth is, I am only a small part of entertaining so I accept this on behalf of all of our crew.’

The accolade comes as  the talk show host was criticised for cosying up to President Donald Trump’s former White House spokesman Sean Spice at the Emmy awards.

Henry XI stars Charles Edwards as the fictitious king, Sally Phillips as his Queen and Annette Crosbie as his irascible mother. The three-part series was written sitcom legends Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, the creators of Porridge.

It triumphed over BBC Three sitcoms People Just Do Nothing and  Witless, and Finnish show Wingman, about two neighbours who get into scrapes

Also shortlisted for best comedy alongside Fleabag were Brexaggedon?!,  Jolyon Rubenstein and Heydon Prowse’s half-hour special satirising the EU referendum; Australia’s Here Come the Habibs – a controversial sitcom about a Lebanese-Australian family who move into a wealthy suburb; and Germany’s Kroymann, a sketch show featuring performer  Maren Kroymann.

Juries drawn from 21 countries chose the winners, which were announced in Berlin last night.

Published: 20 Sep 2017