James Corden wins Tony award for hit show One Man, Two Guvnors

James Corden has won a Tony award for his hit show One Man, Two Guvnors.

The 33-year-old actor, who found fame in the TV comedy Gavin And Stacey, beat a host of Hollywood stars to the award.

He paid an emotional tribute to his girlfriend Julia - who was in the audience - as he picked up his award.

Corden began to well up when he thanked his girlfriend, apologising to the guests and joking:

Corden won the award for best leading actor in a drama for One Man, Two Guvnors, which was nominated in seven categories.

He said it was a great honour to be mentioned in the same breath as actors such as James Earl Jones, Frank Langella, John Lithgow and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Corden said he shared the award with the show's "brilliant" cast and crew, and thanked producer Bob Boyett, "who took a huge risk bringing this ridiculously silly play to your city". He added:

Celebrity friends have tweeted their congratulations to Corden:

But while Corden celebrated his award, British stars such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice missed out on the Tony award for best revival of a musical.

Despite having two nominations - for Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita - they were beaten to the gong by The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess.

The 66th Tony Awards were held at the Beacon Theatre in New York to celebrate excellence in Broadway theatre.

The stage version of the low-budget Irish film hit Once won nine out of its 12 nominations.