Golden Globes 2014: British charge expected as Hollywood assembles for tonight’s 71st annual awards

Show will be hosted for second year running by comedy duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler

American Hustle received seven nominations ahead of tonight's ceremony - the joint-most alongside 12 Years a Slave (Annapurna Productions)

The biggest names of TV and film are set to descend on Hollywood tonight for the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

Proceedings will begin at 1am GMT and be broadcast live by NBC in the US, or the E! channel (Sky 151) in the UK.

The winners are decided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which reports on TV and film for publications around the world.

British actors and directors are expected to make a strong showing among those taking home awards, with the majority of nominees hailing from either the UK or former Commonwealth nations, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Among those tipped for success are director Steve McQueen and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor with 12 Years a Slave, Cate Blanchett with Blue Jasmine and Steve Coogan with Philomena.

The show will be hosted for the second year running by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, comic actresses who have been working together since collaborating for Saturday Night Live in 2004.

In terms of nominations, the most hotly-tipped films are 12 Years a Slave and the stylish comedy American Hustle, which have both received seven.

Click here for the full list of nominations

Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, is thought to be the closest competition to 12 Years in terms of the Best Picture and Best Director awards.

Masters of Sex could well take the Best TV Drama gong because, according to Hollywood Reporter, the HFPA “likes to be different” and has overlooked the hugely popular Breaking Bad in the past.

“It’s a very, very strong year,” Mike Gerbert, author of The Encyclopaedia of Movie Awards, told the Observer. “It’s not at all obvious which will emerge from the pack. People in the fall were calling Gravity the best movie ever made, then two weeks later it’s behind 12 Years a Slave.

Yesterday Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall St), Blanchett, Chiwetel and Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) celebrated their nominations with tea and scones at the Bafta annual pre-awards party.

Held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, Benedict Cumberbatch, Christoph Waltz, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Captain Phillips supporting actor Barkhad Abdi were also among the celebrants in a showing of the current strength of British talent on the international film scene.

For those interested in the fashion and spectacle of the awards, red carpet coverage is scheduled to begin at 11pm tonight. The list of stars presenting awards is in itself extensive, and includes the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr, Reese Witherspoon, Liam Neeson and Emma Watson.