Kate Winslet and Danny Boyle triumph in the Golden Globes

Kate Winslet (pictured with her husband, Sam Mendes) edged closer to realising her dream of winning an Oscar when she picked up two Golden Globes in Los Angeles last night for best dramatic actress in Revolutionary Road and best supporting actress for The Reader.

Winning the Globes, which are seen as a fair indicator as to who will make the cut for the Oscars, ends her personal 12-year run of bad luck in the awards, for which has been nominated seven times but always left empty-handed on the night.

Her success was infectious, at least for the British. At least eight awards went to UK actors and filmmakers ­ including Danny Boyle's movie Slumdog Millionaire, which won four awards including the coveted best drama, thus making it a hot contender for the Academy Awards best film category. The film's success came at the expense of Frost/Nixon, which stars Michael Sheen, and the Brad Pitt/Cate Blanchett movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, neither of which won anything.

Collecting the first of her gongs for The Reader, a tearful Winslet, 33, said: "You have to forgive me because I have a habit of not winning things" before making an acceptance speech that took in her husband, Sam Mendes, who directed her in Revolutionary Road, and her two children, Mia and Joe, who were both watching the ceremony at home on TV. When her name come up again, for Revolutionary Road, she asked: "Is this really happening?"

However, even her success was eclipsed by Slumdog Millionaire, which won all four of its nomination categories including best drama for Boyle, screenplay (Simon Beaufoy) and musical score (AR Rahman).

Boyle, whose other hits include Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the Golden Globes, saying that their "mad, pulsating affection for our film" was "really, deeply appreciated."

The male best-supporting actor went to the late Heath Ledger, who died last year of an accidental overdose, for his critically acclaimed role as The Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight. The win indicates that Ledger is likely to receive a posthumous Oscar nomination when they are announced on January 22, exactly a year to the day of his death.

Other British Golden Globe winners included Tom Wilkinson, who took home an award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Benjamin Franklin in the HBO mini-series John Adams, and Sally Hawkins, who beat Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia) to win Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) for her role as an optimistic school teacher in Mike Leigh's Happy Go Lucky.

The American actor Mickey Rourke continued his successful comeback by winning Best Actor (Drama) for The Wrestler, and Irish actor Colin Farrell was named Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) for In Bruges, the comedy about Irish hit men.