James Nesbitt to host National Movie Awards

James Nesbitt will host the National Movie Awards in London next month. The Cold Feet star, who next appears in The Way alongside Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, will take on presenting duties at the glitzy ceremony, which will be shown live from the Royal Festival Hall on ITV1 on May 26. "The National Movie Awards has quickly become a highlight of the awards calendar, but what marks it out - and makes the evening so special - is that the awards are chosen by the British public," he said. "We are a nation of movie lovers and there is an extra thrill on the night knowing that millions of filmgoers have chosen the winners." The Twilight Saga: New Moon has received five nominations, with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner vying against each other for performance of the year. *Voting for the awards closes today (Friday)

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.