Britons grab the Globes but miss out on a golden glow

Unfortunately, there was no one there to see it.

As the British film and TV industry scooped eight gongs at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles early yesterday, there was no star-studded ceremony, no rambling acceptance speeches, no red carpet and definitely no glamour.

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Leading lady: Keira Knightley in Atonement

The normally glitzy three-hour gala was scrapped because of a long-running strike by Hollywood screen writers.

Instead – in the most downbeat Golden Globes in the awards' 65-year history – the winners' names were rushed out in a 30-minute announcement without a single celebrity present and just a fraction of the 250million viewers who usually tune in worldwide.

Success followed success for Britons at the precursor to the Oscars, with best dramatic motion picture and best score trophies for Atonement and best film actor and actress awards for Daniel Day-Lewis, for There Will Be Blood, and Julie Christie, for Away From Her.

The BBC's Extras scooped the best TV comedy award for Ricky Gervais, while the Channel 4 drama Longford, which explored the relationship betweenMoors killer Myra Hindley and prisons campaigner Lord Longford, won three awards – best TV mini-series, best miniseries actor for Jim Broadbent and best supporting TV actress for Samantha Morton.

But instead of enjoying their moment on the red carpet, the winners had to watch the announcement on television in their hotels in Los Angeles or at home in the UK.

Miss Morton, 30, was said by friends to have forgotten about the event and was texted the result yesterday morning while breastfeeding her daughter Edie, who was born 11 days agoThe curbed festivities have left a question mark over whether the Oscars will go ahead as planned next month.

The 10,500 strikers involved in the screen writers' dispute, over fees for shows broadcast on the internet, had threatened to picket any televised Golden Globes gala.

With few actors willing to cross picket lines, the extravaganza was ditched.

As Atonement's successes were declared, its stars made do with pasta followed by cupcakes instead of the usual champagne-fuelled celebrations.

James McAvoy, 28, who missed out on a best actor award, said: "There was still a lot of shouting and screaming."

The film's leading lady Keira Knightley, 22, lost out as best actress to Julie Christie.

The 66-year-old star has restricted herself to brief screen appearances of late but made a poignant comeback in Away From Her, playing a woman who falls prey to Alzheimer's disease and begins to forget her husband of more than 30 years