James McAvoy wins best actor at Variety Club Awards

James McAvoy (pictured with his wife, Anne-Marie Duff) was among the prize-winners at the Variety Club's 56th annual showbusiness awards, held last night in London.

McAvoy took the Best Film Actor award for a cluster of recent screen performances, among them Becoming Jane and Atonement. While Sir Michael Caine, 75, who attended the ceremony with his wife Lady Shakira Caine, was honoured for his outstanding contribution to showbusiness and his work with the Variety Club, which raises money for sick, disabled and disadvantaged children.

Other prize-winners included Kenneth Branagh (Best Stage Performance for his role in Anton Chekhov's play, Ivanov); Alan Carr (Television Presenter of the Year for ITV's The Sunday Night Project) and Colin Morgan, who is appears in the BBC1's series Merlin, who scooped the Caron Keating award for Outstanding New Talent. Among the audience were actors John Hurt, Simon Pegg and Sir Ben Kingsley.