The stars of ‘Great British Bake Off’ past and present lead the winners at this year’s British LGBT Awards.
The show’s former presenter Sue Perkins and current host Sandi Toksvig were honoured at the third annual event held in London on Friday (11 May) night.
Sue was awarded the Broadcaster or Journalist Of The Year at the ceremony, held at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, while Sandi picked by the Lifetime Achievement award.
‘Orange Is The New Black’ star Laverne Cox was crowned LGBT+ Celebrity Of The Year, while comic Julian Clary was the recipient of the HuffPost UK Loud And Proud Award.
Sir Richard Branson was gifted a Special Recognition award for his lifetime of support for the LGBT+ community, which he has demonstrated with his diverse employment policy or his public backing of same-sex marriage.
While the Virgin boss could not be there on the night, he received his award in a video message, in which he said: “In places like Africa and the Far East, the battle’s far from won. I was recently in Uganda, where gay people are put into prison for life.
“The important thing is that we all now turn our attention to countries that are prosecuting and imprisoning gay people – and even executing gay people.”
Other winners on the night included singers Jess Glynne and Calum Scott, as well as comedian John Bishop, who received the Celebrity Straight Ally award, which was last year won by Prince William.
British LGBT Awards 2018 - Full winners list:
Special Recognition AwardWinner: Sir Richard BransonHuffPost Loud and Proud AwardWinner: Julian ClaryLifetime Achievement AwardWinner: Sandi ToksvigMetro Guilty Pleasures AwardWinner: Calum ScottLGBT+ CelebrityWinner: Laverne CoxMTV Music ArtistWinner: Jess GlynneVirgin Atlantic Celebrity AllyWinner: John BishopBroadcaster or JournalistWinner: Sue PerkinsMedia MomentWinner: Justin Trudeau apologises to the LGBT+ CommunityOnline InfluencerWinner: Connor FrantaPark Plaza Brand or Marketing CampaignJoint winners: Playboy and YouTubeCharity or Community InitiativeWinner: Pride in London2CITIES1BREAK Top LGBT+ DestinationWinner: Tel AvivMI5 Outstanding Contribution to LGBT+ LifeWinner: Susie Green, CEO, MermaidsCorporate Straight AllyWinner: Peter Madden, ArcadisDiversity ChampionWinner: Joanna Walker, Virgin MoneyLGBT+ Inspirational LeaderWinner: Pips Bunce, Credit SuisseLGBT+ Corporate Rising StarWinner: Jonathan Andrews, Reed SmithLGBT+ Network GroupWinner: KPMG BreatheEmployer or Company
Winner: MI5