Wins for Oldman and McGregor

The sexual harassment scandal that has rocked Hollywood dominated a Golden Globes ceremony where Brits were largely shut out.

Nominees and presenters dressed in black to stand in solidarity with victims of sexual violence, as winners spoke out about abuse in support of the Time’s Up campaign for gender equality.

Gary Oldman, Ewan McGregor and Martin McDonagh were the only Brits to triumph at the ceremony, where projects with women at the centre were richly rewarded.

Oldman scored the best actor in a drama prize for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, while McGregor won the best actor in a limited TV series for playing twins in Fargo.

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan beat the likes of Dame Judi Dench and Dame Helen Mirren to win the best actress in a comedy film for Lady Bird, which was named best comedy film.

British-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh won the best screenplay prize for his film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which was also named best drama film.

Female-centric shows Big Little Lies and The Handmaid’s Tale dominated the television categories at the ceremony, which was the first major awards show since the sexual harassment scandal, triggered by allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein, gathered pace.

Big Little Lies was named best limited TV series, while stars Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgard were all singled out for acting prizes.

Kidman won the first award of the night for best actress in a limited series for TV, for playing domestic violence victim Celeste Wright.

Dressed in black, she dedicated the award to her daughters and cast members – saying “wow, the power of women” – and her mother, who “was an advocate for the women’s movement when I was growing up”.

“My achievements are her achievements,” she added.

She said: “This character that I played represents something that is the centre of our conversation right now – abuse.

“I do believe, and I hope, we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them.”

The Handmaid’s Tale was named best drama series, with its star Elisabeth Moss being named best actress in a drama, defeating The Crown’s Claire Foy.

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel won the best comedy series and the star of the Amazon original, Rachel Brosnahan, was named best actress in a comedy.

Frances McDormand won the best actress in a drama movie prize for her role as a grieving mother who takes on the local police after they fail to find her daughter’s killer in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Accepting the award, McDormand said: “I keep my politics private but it was really great to be in this room tonight and to be part of a tectonic shift in our industry’s power struggle.”