It’s finally here, after months of talking about it, tonight is the 88th Academy Awards.

Chris Rock is back as host – fun fact, he forgot his underwear when he arrived at the Dolby Theater and had to send a lackey out to pick him some up.

Everyone expects Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson to pick up the Best Actor/Actress Awards, but which film will be named Best Picture? It’s the hardest race to call in years with pundits believing it’s a three horse race between Spotlight, The Big Short and The Revenant.

If you heard my slots of BBC Radio Berkshire or BBC Radio Oxford this weekend, you’ll know I’m plumping for Spotlight.

This is how the Oscars stage is expected to look tonight. The designers have used this year’s theme We All Dream In Gold as their inspiration.

And this is how it looks in real life.

Finally, Chis Rock is on stage for his opening monologue. He addresses the diversity issue straight away telling the audience “welcome to the White Peoples Choice Awards”.

Ooh, he just told the audience “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited”.

“Rocky takes place in a world where white athletes are as good as black athletes. So it’s science fiction”.

He tells the audience black actors want the same opportunities as white actors.

Right, time for some awards! Emily Blunt and Charlize Theron present Best Original Screenplay. And the Oscar goes to…Spotlight. Hurrah!

Straight on with another award, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe present Best Adapted Screenplay. They have good bantz, which hopefully means good things for their new film, The Nice Guys. Anyway, the Oscar goes to…The Big Short.

So far, so expected. Both films were expected to win their categories.

First dud joke of the night, Chris Rock does a bit about black actors and introduces Stacy Dash as the Academy’s new outreach director. The audience doesn’t get it.

Now Sam Smith is on stage absolutely murdering his Bond song (not in a good way). I do feel sorry for him having to follow Adele’s Skyfall but this is awful.

Yay, last year’s Supporting Actor winner JK Simmons is on stage to announce Supporting Actress. And the Oscar goes to….Alicia Vikander. I’m such a huge fan of hers so I’m delighted!

The gorgeous Cate Blanchett arrives to announce the winner of Costume Design. This should be a British winner with both Sandy Powell (twice) and Jenny Beavan nominated. And the Oscar goes to…Jenny Beavan for Mad Max Fury Road.

Tina Fey and Steve Carell arrive to present Production Design. And the Oscar goes to…Mad Max Fury Road. Two nominations, two wins.

They’re rattling thought them now. Suicide Squad’s Margot Robbie and Jared Leto are here to announce Make Up and Hairstyling. And the Oscar goes to…Mad Max Fury Road.

Chris Rock announces the next presenters “Nominee Rachel McAdams and shoulda-been-nominee Michael B Jordan”. They’re presenting Cinematography. And the Oscar goes to…Emmanuel Lubeszki for The Revenant. This is his third win in as many years, following Gravity and Birdman.

Editing now. Priyanka Chopra and Liev Schreiber have the honour. And the Oscar goes to…Mad Max Fury Road. Six wins now…

Time for another dig at Will Smith..

https://amp.twimg.com/v/3e72990a-4dc8-4cc8-aa4d-8acbb7fc9cc0

Chadwick Boseman and Chris Evans are presenting two awards. First up, Sound Editing. And the Oscar goes to…Mad Max Fury Road. This is becoming a sweep!

Sound Mixing. Another Mad Max win? And the Oscar goes to…Mad Max Fury Road!

Precious! The wonderful Andy Serkis is on stage to reveal the winner of Visual Effects. Good choice of presenter, Academy. And the Oscar goes to… Ex Machina! That’s a surprise, Star Wars was the favourite but great to see more British winners.

One of the biggest cheers of the night as C3PO, BB-8 and R2D2 appear to pay tribute to John Williams.

Time for this year’s pizza moment – Chris Rock introduces his daughters’ Girl Scout group so they can sell cookies to the audience

Best Animated Short now, presented by the Minions! And the Oscar goes to…Bear Story.

Now Woody and Buzz Lightyear reveal the winner of Best Aminated Feature Film. And the Oscar goes to… Inside Out – as if any other film was going to win.

Has Chris Rock mentioned the diversity controversy? Maybe not for five minutes…

Patricia Arquette is on stage to announce this year’s Best Supporting Actor. And the Oscar goes to…Mark Rylance. That’s the night’s biggest shock, everyone thought Stallone had it in the bag. He describes director Steven Spielberg as one of the greatest storytellers of our time.

My favourite skit of the night.

Louis CK is on stage to present Best Short Documentary. He’s very funny about how the category is one of the less flashy. And the Oscar goes to…A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness. Great speech by the female director.

Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel arrive to announce Best Documentary Feature. And the Oscar goes to…Amy. Another British winner, congrats Asif Kapadia. He obviously pays tribute to Amy Winehouse.

The internet’s favourite, Jacob Tremblay and Abraham Attah present Best Short. And the Oscar goes to…Stutterer.

Now it’s Foreign Language Film presented by Sofia Vergara and Byung-Hun Lee. And the Oscar goes to…Son of Saul.

The first standing ovation of the night goes to Vice President Joe Biden who tells the audience he’s “the least qualified guy in the room”. He introduces Lady Gaga’s performance.

Now Quincy Jones and Pharrell Williams arrive to announce Best Score. And the Oscar goes to…Ennio Morricone.

That’s quickly followed by Best Song, presented by Common and John Legend. And the Oscar goes to…Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes! That’s a surprise! Sam Smith dedicates his win to the LGBT community around the world.

Oh no, Sacha Baron Cohen’s on stage as Ali G. Am I the only one who doesn’t find him funny at all?

Ok, big four time. It starts with Best Director, presented by JJ Abrams. And the Oscar goes to…Alejandro G Inarritu. His second in as many years. He calls his lead actor Leo “The Revenant”.

Eddie Redmayne arrives to announce Best Actress. And the Oscar goes to…Brie Larson. She immediately turns round and gives Jacob Tremblay a hug.

Two to go…

Julianne Moore announces the Leonardo DiCaprio Award for Best Actor. And the Oscar goes to…Bryan Cranston. No, of course it doesn’t. And the Oscar goes to…Leonardo DiCaprio. He races to the stage and gets a standing ovation. Hmm, no “get off the stage” music for Leo. He’s allowed to talk for as long as he likes.

Finally Morgan Freeman is here to reveal Best Picture. Fingers crossed for Spotlight. And the Oscar goes to…SPOTLIGHT. I am absolutely delighted.

So that’s that. I have to say I found it a really enjoyable show this year. Chris Rock was a funny host (even if the diversity issue was played to death), there were some genuine surprises and (in my opinion) the best film won on the night.

Roll on the 89th Academy Awards on February 26, 2017. Less than a year to go!