Anne-Marie Duff and Andy Serkis claim top prizes at Evening Standard film awards

By Matthew Champion.

Anne-Marie Duff and Andy Serkis have won the top acting prizes at this year's Evening Standard film awards.

Duff claimed best actress for her role as John Lennon's mother in Nowhere Boy, with Serkis picking up the best actor gong for playing Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.

After beating Oscar-nominated Carey Mulligan (An Education) and Kelly Macdonald (Merry Gentlemen) to the prize, the pregnant 39-year-old thanked husband James McAvoy in her acceptance speech.

"I'd really like to be Mrs McAvoy for a minute and say thank you for seriously having to live with a flame-haired broken-hearted banjo player for quite some time," she said.

Serkis, who beat Tom Hardy (Bronson) and Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles) to the best actor gong, paid tribute to the late iconic singer Dury when he took to the stage at the London Film Museum last night.

"Ian wherever you are, this is for you," the Lord of the Rings star said.

Best film meanwhile went to Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold, beating off competition from Bright Star and Helen.

Sacha Baron Cohen picked up the Peter Sellers award for comedy for Bruno, beating Ricky Gervais (The Invention of Lying) and Peter Capaldi (In the Loop).

But the In the Loop trio of Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell and Armando Iannucci, who have also received an Oscar nomination, did go home with best screenplay.