Accolade for his performance in After Life

Ricky Gervais is to receive a Rose d’Or award for his performance in the  Netflix series After Life.

Sofia Helin, who chairs the jury of the international award said: ‘After Life’s first season moves between dark comedy and affecting drama, Ricky gives a stand-out performance, bringing a new dimension to his talent.’

In the show, which he also wrote and directed, Gervais plays Tony, who becomes nihilist after his wife dies, acting without a care for himself or what people see of him. A second series has just been shot and is due on the streaming platform next year.

Gervais will receive his award at a ceremony in  London on December 1, hosted by Sir Lenny Henry.

The Rose d’Or awards were first given in 1961 in Montreux, Switzerland, but has not had a performance award since 2006.

As previously announced, After Life has also been nominated for best comedy-drama in this year’s ceremony alongside Derry Girls, The Bisexual, Plebs, Sex Education and Spain’s Arde Madrid, the only non-British show in that section.

This Time With Alan Partridge and BBC Three’s Famalam have been shortlisted in the separate comedy category alongside Baroness Von Sketch Show from Canada, Couples Therapy  from Norway,  Kroymann  from Germany and Shabas  from Israel.

Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and The Last Leg with Adam Hills, Josh Widdecombe and Alex Brooker are up for the best studio entertainment gong against shows from Canada, France and the US.

In the the audio entertainment category, Daliso Chaponda’s Radio 4 show Citizen of Nowhere has been shortlisted for the audio entertainment accolade alongside Cariad Lloyd’s Griefcast.

Also in the running for that category are the BBC’s Brexitcast, the World Service documentary 13 Minutes To The Moon, Documentary On One: The Announcement from Ireland’s RTE Radio and It Burns: The Scandal-Plagued Race To Breed the World’s Hottest Chilli made for 7 Digital in Australia. 

Maren Kroymann, the first lady of German TV comedy, will receive the lifetime achievement award, following in the footsteps of Joanna Lumley, Angela Lansbury, James Corden and John Cleese.

Published: 19 Nov 2019