Safety first at the Loaded Lafta comedy awards

The shortlist seemed bizarre: from million-selling comic Michael McIntyre to Beccy Huxtable , Radio 1 DJ Sott Mills's sidekick (their word, not ours). But the 2010 Laftas , unveiled at the end of last week, weren't quite your average comedy awards. Though maybe they were: average in every sense. Voted for entirely online by Loaded readers, from a list of nominations, the roll call was a fascinating snapshot of what the average Brit finds funny. The first thing that's striking is how widely the judges spread their net. Apart from a distinct lack of club comics – you suspect Russell Howard and McIntyre are there solely by virtue of their TV coverage – the list of nominees boasts radio personalities, singing duos ( X Factor's Jedward ), everyman Richard Hammond (as funniest TV presenter), even X Factor's Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh , nominated for funniest double act. Blasts from the past, too. Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer were there on fine form, bantering with each other, smarting the press by refusing to give straight answers, and collecting best double act (beating Jedward and Cowell–Walsh). McIntyre scooped best standup, as well as being nominated for funniest man. But then he would, wouldn't he? Not everything was expected. Surprisingly, Frankie Boyle was only nominated for best podcast, not standup or funniest man. Jimmy Carr failed to win best standup and didn't get a look-in on funniest man. There were other curiosities, too: celebrity satirist Katy Brand collecting the award for funniest woman, for instance, winning from a shortlist that also included Sarah Silverman and Jo Brand . (Rather than, say, Sarah Millican or even Lucy Porter .) Now, say what you like about Jo Brand, but she's surely an odd choice. Aside from QI, she's not really prolific on TV and doesn't do standup any more. Oh, and she made her name with the kind of ball-crunching, feminist comedy that would make most Loaded readers run a mile. But then it dawns: Loaded readers don't know anything about female comedians, do they? They couldn't think of any other funny women. The odd thing about all this is that British comedy is, to my mind, richer and more diverse than it's ever been, certainly on the circuit, but even in Loaded's natural home, TV. Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle was critically acclaimed, and to some extent blurred the boundaries of TV standup (with its criticism of the channel hosting it and pops at beloved figures), but he's nowhere to be seen on the list. The weird and wonderful Psychoville , from the creators of The League of Gentlemen , also failed to get a nod. On the face of it, it's difficult to work out what the Laftas actually are about. But two of the awards maybe gave a clue. First was the award of Loaded Legend to Frank Skinner , populariser of the anal sex gag, and surely Loaded's rightful king. And the funniest man award went to wild-haired, West Countryman Justin Lee-Collins of the Friday and Sunday Night Project and Bring Back … series – in fact the second time he has won (the first was in 2007). His shows are accessible and enthusiastic. He's a devoted dad but he's also a bit of a cock. He's your loudmouth mate. And perhaps that sums up the Loaded awards. Nothing too flash, nobody too frightening. Boyle couldn't win – he's too scary. Lee is nobody's best mate. Psychoville is too weird. But McIntyre is perfect: unthreatening, not too nasty and he's never going to run off with your wife.