The 84-year-old, who was knighted in the New Year's Honours List last month, was handed the Bernard Delfont Award for Outstanding Contribution to Showbusiness.

Martine McCutcheon: Showbiz personality of the year

Wisdom, who has been a star for more than half a century, was one of the UK's biggest box office draws of the 1950s - starring in film hits such as 1953's Trouble in Store.

In all, the winners of 11 different categories from television, radio, theatre, and pop music were presented.

Martine McCutcheon, who quit EastEnders in 1998 to pursue a singing career, was named Showbusiness Personality of the Year.

Double triumph

Television star Jeremy Northam scooped his second major title in 48 hours when he won the Variety Club's award for best film actor.

Jeremy Northam: Star of An Ideal Husband

Northam, who starred in last year's films The Winslow Boy and An Ideal Husband, won the same category at last weekend's Evening Standard British Film Awards.

Pregnant Hollywood star Catherine Zeta Jones, who was named best film actress, was unable to attend the ceremony at the London Hilton in Park Lane.

Rising star Joe Absolom, whose character Matthew Rose left EastEnders last week, won the Sir James Carreras Award for Outstanding New Talent.

The Television Personality award was won by the BBC's Ground Force team of gardening experts, which includes Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock.

Steps were a hit with the Variety Club

The two stars of the critically-acclaimed revival of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, Jennifer Ehle and Stephen Dillane, picked up the awards for best stage actress and actor.

Pop stars Steps won the recording artistes award, and best actor/ actress in a musical went to Spend Spend Spend star Barbara Dickson.

BBC Radio 5 Live's Nicky Campbell won the Radio Personality prize.

Winners were judged by a panel of showbusiness and entertainment professionals for their 1999 achievements.

A recording of the awards show, hosted by television presenter Michael Aspel, will be shown on BBC One on 13 February.