Ricky Gervais was presented with the Performance of the Year award at the Rose d'Or Awards on Sunday night (01.12.19)

Ricky said: "I can't believe I was chosen from all the amazing performances in both drama and comedy from all over the world this year. Truly flattered. This might be my favourite honour of my career."

The award show was hosted by Sir Lenny Henry, who used his welcome speech to discuss the importance of diversity.

He said: "I believe society is built on story telling - the stories we tell about ourselves and to each other. We understand our neighbours, our past, our present, and where we are going by the stories we tell. Imagine a world where people from Spain were not allowed to tell their stories and instead the British decided what we should know about Spain and directed, wrote and produced ninety percent of their television. This is how it can feel for far too many people when we talk about ethnic diversity, or disability or gender within our respective countries. When it comes to television, it can feel as if other people are telling our stories. Let's talk about diversity and what does and doesn't work in our respective countries. Let's learn from each other. The French Film council has brought in new funding rules to try and help increase the number of women directors and writers. Parts of the US are giving film and television tax breaks to productions meeting diversity criteria. This should be an international race to the top."

Other winners included 'Michael McIntyre's Big Show' for Studio Entertainment whilst 'The Repair Shop' won Reality and Factual Entertainment.

The full list of winners of the 2019 Rose d'Or Awards are as follows:

SOAP OR TELENOVELA

Orphans of a Nation - Globo (Brazil)

CHILDREN AND YOUTH

ZombieLars - NRK, Tordenfilm, Global Screen (Norway)

ARTS

The Greenaway Alphabet - NTR, Beeld TV, Wide House (Holland)

AUDIO ENTERTAINMENT

13 Minutes to the Moon - BBC World Service (UK)

SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO SERIES

Swipe - NPO 3, VERTOV, KRO-NCRV (Holland)

STUDIO ENTERTAINMENT

Michael McIntyre's Big Show - BBC One, Hungry McBear (UK)

COMEDY

Baroness Von Sketch Show - CBC, Frantic Films, Banijay Rights (Canada)

REALITY AND FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT

The Repair Shop - BBC2, Ricochet, Warner Bros (UK)

COMEDY DRAMA AND SITCOM

Arde Madrid - Movistar, Beta Film (Spain)

DRAMA

Chernobyl - Sky Atlantic, HBO, Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games (UK/US)

GOLDEN ROSE

Chernobyl - Sky Atlantic, HBO, Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint, Word Games (UK/US)

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Ricky Gervais for After Life

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Maren Kroymann