Adele tops British star success at Golden Globes

Dame Maggie was the first Briton of the night to win, collecting her award for best supporting actress in a TV mini-series for her role as Violet Crawley in ITV’s internationally successful Downton Abbey.

The veteran actress, who did not attend the ceremony in Los Angeles, missed out on a second gong for best actress in a comedy or musical in her latest film Quartet.

Homeland star Damien Lewis dedicated his win for best actor in a television drama to his mother: “I’d like to dedicate this to my mum, looking down on me bursting with pride telling everyone around her how well her son is doing in acting.”

British chart-topper Adele took home the Golden Globe for best original song for the title track on the latest James Bond film, Skyfall. It was her first public appearance since giving birth in October.

The 24-year-old joked with the audience that she was only out for a night on the town and not expecting to win.

“Honestly, I’ve come out for a night out with my friend Ida. We’re new mums,” she said. “We’ve literally come for a night out I was not expecting this. Thank you so much. It’s very strange to be here, and thank you so much for letting me be a part of your world for a night. It’s amazing.”

The British actor Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor in a drama for his role in the biopic Lincoln.

Argo triumph

Other awards of the night went to Ben Affleck, who took home best director for his Iran hostage thriller Argo, despite the fact that it missed out an Oscar nomination this year.

Les Miserables was also named best musical or comedy, and Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway won acting awards for their roles in the musical film, which opened in the UK this weekend.

Jennifer Lawrence won best musical or comedy actress for Silver Linings Playbook while Christoph Waltz was awarded best supporting actor for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Golden Globe awards clips provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions