Actress Angela Griffin and writer and comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar are to host the Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards on Thursday.

Dubbed the Emmas, the lavish awards ceremony, to be held in London on Thursday night, will see stars from the world of showbiz join together to honour ethnic talent working in the industry.

Two lifetime achievement awards will be given out during the event, including one for the legendary Ray Charles for excellence in the music industry.

Acclaimed writer Dr Maya Angelou will also be presented with a lifetime achievement award by newsreader Jon Snow.

Fighting it out for the best actor award will be Will Smith for Ali and Denzel Washington for his Oscar-winning performance in Training Day.

British talent

Academy Award winner Halle Berry has been nominated for best actress for Swordfish, alongside Naseeruddin Shah for Monsoon Wedding.

Nominated talent from the music world include British artists Beverly Knight and Craig David as well as Mary J Blige and Alicia Keys.

BBC drama Babyfather is nominated in three categories.

Three actors from the series - David Harewood, Don Gilet and Fraser James - are up for best actor alongside Rudolph Walker who plays Patrick Trueman in EastEnders.

Award host Angela Griffin is also nominated for her role in Babyfather and the show will compete for best entertainment programme.

Presenters for the occasion include Eamonn Holmes, Linford Christie, Denise Lewis, Audley Harrison, Shiulie Ghosh and Bend it Like Beckham stars Parminda Nagra, Juliet Stevenson.

Live music on the night will come from Mis-Teeq, Lighthouse Family and performances from the musical Umoja.