Golden Globes gaffes: It'll be alright on the night...but it wasn't on these 10 occasions

From hideous acceptance speeches to the worst compère, we round up the most awkward moments in the award ceremony's history

Sophia Vergara at the Golden Globes in 2011 (Getty Images)

Ah, the Golden Globes - a night of saccharine speeches, ambitious fashion and gloriously rousing muzak. The award ceremony has, however, had more than its fair share of awkward moments.

From actors going rogue on stage to autocues leaving presenters high and dry, programme producers have had to have their wits about them and their fingers poised, ready to drown out any spontaneous combustions (here’s looking at you, Mr Bale).

But what would the Globes be without a little on-the-night glitch? Nothing. Let's just hope Sunday night's awards don't go to plan.

Here are ten incidences when Hollywood failed to be smooth:

Elizabeth Taylor, 2001

Liz almost blew the suspense by trying to announce the winner of the 2001 Best Film before the nominees. It took about a minute for her (with the help of aides and audience participation) to realise that she should just read off the autocue and *then* open the envelope. The audience however lapped it up – proving that Hollywood legends can do no wrong.

Christine Lahti, 1998

Imagine: you've been rehearsing your acceptance speech in the shower since you were ten. You've known what you were going to wear since forever and then when you finally win a Golden Globe…you're in the lav. It really is the stuff of nightmares. Fortunately Christine Lahti had Robin Williams on hand to awkwardly fill the space until she had, er, finished.

Christian Bale, 2011

I reckon being Batman must do things to you after a while - those nightly battles with the Penguin and Joker will send you over the edge. Bale gave a performance to remember when he picked up his globe and spent the next ten minutes thanking every Tom, Dick and Harry he could spot in the audience. Organisers eventually cut off Bale’s mic, presumably because they had homes to go to. Suffice to say, he wasn’t very happy about it.

Ricky Gervais, 2011

When The Office creator took to the stage to compere the 2011 awards, it was even more awkward than watching David Brent…because it was real. Apart from poking fun at Charlie Sheen (who, let's face it, is a gold mine for gags), Gervais went to town on The Tourist. One joke? Funny. Two jokes? OK. More? Make it stop. Please.

Robert De Niro, 2011

Like the socially unacceptable granddad at the Christmas party, De Niro used his acceptance speech to make some light jokes about Hispanics being deported, as well as having a general pop at the Hollywood Foreign Press. Pay particular attention to the moment when Angelina Jolie’s does the 'Oh my God!' face to Brad, once it becomes clear that De Niro has lost the plot.

Natalie Portman, 2011

The pregnant actress couldn't hold back the flood of emotion during her speech. Was she laughing or crying? Who cares, I'm crying.

Jodie Foster, 2013

This incident is only awkward because Jodie Foster eclipsed every single person at that year’s ceremony with her brilliant 'coming out' speech. Not only did she win the Cecil B DeMille award for just generally being a big deal, but then she gave the most glorious soliloquy of her career, paying tribute to her then partner and BFF, Cydney Bernard. Spare a thought for the poor soul who had to follow that.

Diddy & Bono, 2014

I don't get why you wouldn’t want a bear hug from P Diddy but clearly Bono didn’t want to pucker up for some bromance. Bono actually swerves a considerable way back to avoid facial contact with the R&B legend.

Johan Hill and Margot Robbie, 2014

He is one of the funniest men on the planet so it could have been worse when Hill came on stage with Margot Robbie to find the wrong autocue in place…the rictus grins on both their faces speak volumes. And Robbie's shoulders shake with mirth even when they're handed a piece of paper with the right info on it.

Jacqueline Bisset, 2014

JACQUELINE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?