Ricky Gervais Goes Down Well at Golden Globes... Now that's a Surprise!

For some reason, Ricky Gervais was back to host his third Golden Globe Awards in California last night. Despite the upset and controversy he caused last year by overstepping the mark on several occasions, the ceremony’s organisers thought they would take their chances with the comedian.

This year, Ricky stuck to the strict set of instructions given to him by the Hollywood Foreign Press… mostly! The compare opened the awards by picking up where he left off last year:

“So where was I?

“Nervous? Don’t be, this isn’t about you.”

Despite having noticeably toned down his jokes, the comedian couldn’t resist cracking a few one-liners at the expense of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Within the opening five minutes of the show, The Office star had already mentioned Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster’s beaver and the size of his penis – all of which had apparently been listed as out of bounds topics.

Kim Kardashian, Eddie Murphy and Justin Beiber were also the subject of Gervais’ jokes, who explained: “The Golden Globes are to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton.

“Bit louder. Bit trashier. Bit drunker. And more easily bought… allegedly”

Kardashian was also teased over her failed 72-day marriage, with Gervais quipping: “I’ve sat through longer James Cameron acceptance speeches.”

Speaking about Eddie Murphy, and his decision to decline hosting the 2012 Academy Awards, Ricky said: “When the man who said ‘yes’ to Norbit says ’no’ to you, you know you’re in trouble. “

Finally, Ricky took a crack at the young Justin Bieber and his controversial year, saying: “Justin Bieber nearly had to take a paternity test.

“What a waste of a test that would have been. No, he’s not the father.

“The only way he could have impregnated a girl was if he borrowed one of Martha Stewart’s turkey basters.”

Despite receiving criticism by some about his performance, plenty of celebrities praised the Brit for balancing on the fine line between profanity and comedy. George Clooney told The Mail: “I think he handled tonight like a proper good host again. I think people were expecting a lot of trash talk, and he did a little bit of that, and he made me laugh. He was very funny.”

Watch his opening speech here!

Tags: golden globe, jodie foster, mel gibson, kim kardashian, eddie murphy, justin bieber, , ricky gervais