Ricky Gervais's 5 most cutting gags from last night's Golden Globes

If they gave out Golden Globes for making A-listers squirm, Ricky Gervais’s mantelpiece would have collapsed under the sheer weight of shiny metal by now.

Hosting for the fourth time following a three-year stint by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Gervais proved he had lost absolutely none of his cutting satire, nor his enthusiasm for making the great and the good of Hollywood squirm last night as the 73rd awards took place.

Livening up an otherwise dry three hours of back patting and rehearsed speeches, his ego-deflating one-liners must have had some actors wondering why they’d turned up in the first place - and as the three-time winner put it himself: “[It’s] worthless - a bit of metal that a few nice old journalists wanted to give you in person so they could meet you and have a selfie with you.”

Viewers at home, however, were in for a treat. Here are his top five zingers.

Calling Sean Penn a snitch

Getting the topical gag out of the way early doors, it took less than 30 seconds for Gervais to reference the news that Penn interviewed now re-captured Mexican drug lord El Chapo, doing so with aplomb. So much so that this video exists.

Mel Gibson Part Two

"I love a drink as much as the next man, unless that man is Mel Gibson" - it's been a few years since this awkward exchange took place and faced with the tricky task of welcoming the alleged antisemite back on to stage, all eyes were on Gervais. We won't spoil it, but if you're wondering what gets dubbed out, that'll be Gervais interputing old Mel to ask a question we've all been wondering: "What does sugar tits even mean?"

Mocking Ben Affleck

Managing to kill two birds with one stone – one being the fact The Martian was contentiously nominated under Best Comedy or Musical; the other being the fidelity of Matt Damon's best pal Ben Affleck – Gervais’s introduction for Damon was enough to leave the guest presenter speechless. Gasps and barely muffled laughter testement of how close-to-the-bone it was.

Taking aim at Caitlyn Jenner

“What a year she’s had – a role model for trans people everywhere and showing bravery by breaking down barriers of stereotypes”. The audience knew something was coming, and Gervais didn't let them down. We bet the punchline would have driven the Kardashians crazy.

Broaching Hollywood's gender pay gap

Picking out Jennifer Lawrence, who's pretty much become the spokesman for equal pay among men and women in Hollywood, Gervais saying he wholeheartedly agrees with women being paid for doing the same job. To the point of making sure he got the equal pay of last year’s hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler combined.