United 93 clinched Film of the Year and Director of the Year for Paul Greengrass while Forest Whitaker picked up Actor of the Year for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King Of Scotland.

Meryl Streep won Actress of the Year for The Devil Wears Prada and rising British star Emily Blunt, 23, won British Actress of the Year in a Supporting Role for her part in the same film.

Veteran British actor Sir Michael Caine took British Actor of the Year in a Supporting Role for his performance in the Christopher Nolan film The Prestige.

Dame Helen is sexiest older woman - Jan 29 2007
It may not be in the same league as winning an Oscar, but Dame Helen Mirren has been voted the world’s sexiest older woman ahead of Sophia Loren.

The Queen actress, 61, up for an Academy Award for her lauded performance as Her Majesty, tops a list of female stars who have passed the over-50 mark.

Italian screen siren Sophia, 72, one of cinema’s greatest sex symbols, takes second place.

US star Meryl Streep, 57, also contending for the best actress Oscar for her role in The Devil Wears Prada, is third, followed by Judi Dench, 72, another of this year’s Academy Award nominees.

Diane Keaton, 61, is fifth while her Something’s Gotta Give co-star, legendary lothario Jack Nicholson, 69, has been voted sexiest older man.

Bond legend Sean Connery, 76, is next, followed by Robert Redford, 70, Clint Eastwood, 76, and Dreamgirls star Danny Glover, 60, in the poll of 2,700 film fans.

Fliss White, marketing manager for Lovefilm.com, which carried out the survey, said: "Older actors have never been so sought after in Tinseltown and it’s great to see the Brits flying the flag so high, especially in the Oscar nominations."

Sexiest Older Women
1 - Dame Helen Mirren
2 - Sophia Loren
3 - Meryl Streep
4 - Dame Judi Dench
5 - Diane Keaton

Sexiest Older Men
1 - Jack Nicholson
2 - Sean Connery
3 - Robert Redford
4 - Clint Eastwood
5 - Danny Glover 


Dame Helen heads British Oscar line-up - Jan 23 2007
Dame Helen Mirren leads a surprisingly strong British contingent for this year’s Oscar nominations.

She is favourite to land the best actress award for her role in The Queen.

Britons dominate the category - there are also nominations for Dame Judi Dench as an embittered schoolmistress in Notes On A Scandal and Kate Winslet as a frustrated mother in Little Children.

Peter O’Toole picked up his eighth Oscar nomination - and his first in 24 years - at the age of 74 for his performance as an ageing actor who falls for a young woman in Venus.

The Queen is a contender for best film alongside Babel, The Departed, Letters From Iwo Jima and Little Miss Sunshine.

And there are two British nominees for best director - Stephen Frears for The Queen and Paul Greengrass for United 93, his harrowing depiction of the last hours aboard a doomed 9/11 flight.

Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen is nominated for best adapted screenplay.

The musical Dreamgirls led US Academy Awards contenders with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture category for which it had been considered a potential front-runner.

The sweeping ensemble drama Babel was close behind with seven, including acting honours for two newcomers to US audiences, Mexico’s Adriana Barraza and Japan’s Rinko Kikuchi.