Sir Lenny Henry is to host this year’s Builders’ Merchants Awards for Excellence.

He is the latest in a line of familiar comedy faces to host the awards, including last year’s host Joanne Lumley OBE, Dara Ó Briain in 2016, and Tim Vine in 2015.

Sir Lenny’s first appeared on TV as a contestant on the Seventies talent show New Faces. Over the following four decades, he has been a cult kids’ TV personality, a stand-up comedian and a film producer, as well as a Shakespearean actor, the star of numerous TV and radio programmes, and co-founder of the Comic Relief charity.

We will be holding the Builders’ Merchants Awards for Excellence 2018 at the London Hilton Hotel on 23 November, bringing merchants and suppliers together to celebrate achievement and excellence across the sector.

The annual awards luncheon highlights the hard work and innovation that has helped merchants to enjoy strong growth during the previous 12 months. This year there are 21 categories, spanning every aspect of the industry from tool showroom of the year to achiever of the year, with two new ones – woman in merchanting and supplier account manager of the year.

For more information about the awards, or to book your place at the ceremony, go to www.merchants-awards.co.uk.