Gervais leads UK Golden Globes challenge

Ricky Gervais will lead the British charge at tonight’s Golden Globe awards.

Jude Law, Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley and Joely Richardson are also in the running.

The glittering awards ceremony is taking place in Los Angeles.

Gervais is nominated for best TV comedy actor and The Office is up for best comedy – the first non-American series to make the running.

He faces tough competition from Friends star Matt LeBlanc, while the BBC show is up against Sex And The City and Will And Grace.

Law has been nominated for best actor for his role in the sweeping American Civil War epic Cold Mountain. He is in competition with Ben Kingsley for The House Of Sand And Fog.

The other actors vying for the award are Russell Crowe in Master And Commander, Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai and Sean Penn in Mystic River.

Helen Mirren has two nominations, best comedy actress for Calendar Girls and best actress in a TV movie for The Roman Spring Of Mrs Stone, in which she romps with Olivier Martinez.

Joely Richardson has a good chance of landing the best TV actress award for the cosmetic surgery drama Nip/Tuck.

Albert Finney is hoping for his fourth Golden Globe for best supporting actor in Tim Burton’s Big Fish.

Other British hopefuls are Richard Curtis (best screenplay for Love Actually), Anthony Minghella (best director and screenplay for Cold Mountain), Tom Wilkinson (best TV actor for Normal) and Dame Maggie Smith (best TV actress for My House In Umbria).

Two British films are in the running for best comedy – Love Actually and Bend It Like Beckham are competing with Big Fish, Finding Nemo and Lost In Translation.

The Golden Globes are seen as a pointer to the Oscars and the best film category will be the most fiercely fought.

The contenders are Cold Mountain; The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King; Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World; Mystic River; and Seabiscuit.