JOANNA LUMLEY Honoured with LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD at WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION AWARDS 2015

Sharon Horgan, Charlotte Rampling, Sandi Toksvig, Mishal Husain and Regina Moriarty also amongst winners

Campaigner, actor and all round ‘absolutely fabulous’ Joanna Lumley was today awarded The EON Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by her long time friend and Absolutely Fabulous co-star, Jennifer Saunders at the 25th annual Women in Film and TV Awards.

Award-winning writer and comedy actress Sharon Horgan, screen star Charlotte Rampling, BBC news presenter Mishal Husain, and writer Regina Moriarty are just some of the outstanding women from the world of film and television who were also honoured in front of 1000 of the industry’s top executives today.

Hosted by broadcaster and presenter Sandi Toksvig and supported by Sky, the prestigious event saw film and TV’s finest gather at London’s Park Lane Hilton Hotel to celebrate the year’s most inspiring women.

Lumley’s award honours her esteemed screen career which has spanned over 40 years. Best known in recent years for her role as Patsy Stone in long-running British TV sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, in which she starred alongside Jennifer Saunders as Edina Monsoon, Lumley has also appeared in a multitude of successful TV series from The Avengers to Mistresses, and Jam & Jerusalem to Sensitive Skin. The award-winning actor’s film credits are equally impressive including 2013’s Oscar winner The Wolf of Wall Street and 1969 Bond classic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Comedy writer and actress, Sharon Horgan, was awarded the Creative Skillset Writing Award in recognition of her hugely successful Channel 4 comedy series, Catastrophe. Horgan accepted the accolade from the set of her new TV series in New York, presented by her Catastrophe co-writer and co-star, Rob Delaney in London.

The MAC Best Performance Award was presented to internationally acclaimed actor Charlotte Rampling by her Broadchurch co-star, Olivia Colman, for her role in upcoming film 45 Years, in which she stars alongside Tom Courtenay. New talent was also celebrated at the award ceremony, with the Fremantle Media UK New Talent Award presented to Regina Moriarty, the creator of BBC3’s award winning drama Murdered By My Boyfriend.

The ITV Studios Achievement of the Year Award went to event host Sandi Toksvig for her work with the Women’s Equality Party and was presented to her via a pre-recorded film from Dr Helen Pankhurst, whilst the Barclays Business Award was presented by Sir Kenneth Branagh to Left Bank Pictures founder and MD, Marigo Kehoe.

WFTV CEO Kate Kinninmont said: “For 25 years, these awards have celebrated and recognized the talented women in film and television, and this year our winners are once again an outstanding group of creative women. We are particularly thrilled to honour Joanna Lumley’s remarkable career with The EON Lifetime Achievement award. She is incredibly well respected and a huge talent and we are delighted to have her here today. Every year, the calibre of nominees is extremely high and this year has been no exception.” 

The NEP Visions Presenter Award was presented to BBC News Presenter Mishal Husain, and Betty Williams was given The Film Finances Project Management Award in recognition of her work on films including Gladiator, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Indiana Jones.

Other winners included Sarah Greenwood (The Panalux Craft Award), Tulip Mazumdar (The BBC News and Factual Award), Gillian Dodders (The Technicolor Creative Technology Award), Amma Assante (The Deluxe Digital Director Award), Kim Longinotto (The Argonon Contribution to the Medium Award) and Leslee Udwin (The ENVY Producer Award).

A full list of winners follows:

Marigo Kehoe - The Barclays Business Award

Regina Moriarty - The FremantleMedia UK New Talent Award

Sarah Greenwood - The Panalux Craft Award

Tulip Mazumdar - The BBC News and Factual Award

Betty Williams - The Film Finances Project Management Award

Mishal Husein - The NEP Visions Presenter Award

Amma Asante - The Deluxe Digital Cinema Director Award

Sharon Horgan - The Creative Skillset Writing Award

Gillian Dodders - The Technicolor Creative Technology Award

Leslee Udwin - The ENVY Producer Award

Charlotte Rampling - The MAC Best Performance Award

Sandi Toksvig - The ITV Studios Achievement of the Year Award

Kim Longinotto - The Argonon Contribution to the Medium Award

Joanna Lumley - The EON Lifetime Achievement Award

About WFTV
Women in Film & TV (UK) is the leading membership organisation for women working in creative media in the UK, and part of an international network of over 10,000 women worldwide. Members of our organisation come from a broad range of professions spanning the entire creative media industry, including film, TV, games, animation and digital media.