Love Actually (2003) has been named Best British Film at the Empire Awards.

Emma Thompson has also been voted Best British Actress for her role in the romantic comedy.

Martine McCutcheon took Best Newcomer for her role as teagirl Natalie in the Richard Curtis film.

For the third year running, moviegoers gave The Lord of the Rings the award for Best Film - with the third in the trilogy The Return of the King.

Andy Serkis - who had been tipped but failed to clinch an Oscar nomination for his part as computer generated Gollum in the Peter Jackson film - won the award for Best British Actor.

The Best Actress award went to Uma Thurman for her high-kicking role in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), while Quentin Tarantino was named Best Director.

Johnny Depp won Best Actor for his part in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).

The Career Achievement award was presented to Aliens star Sigourney Weaver.

The Sony Ericsson Empire awards were voted for by the readers of the film magazine Empire and the ceremony was held at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003) also won the Sony Ericsson Scene of the Year for the Ride of the Rohirrim sequence.

Thompson also won Best Actress award at the weekend at the 31st Evening Standard British Film Awards.

Source: Press Release