Sunset Boulevard wins big at Oliviers as celebrity talent largely overlooked

Jamie Lloyd’s revival takes home seven awards including for Nicole Scherzinger but film and TV stars in other productions miss out

Jamie Lloyd’s bombastic reimagining of Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger was the standout show at this year’s Olivier awards, with seven wins on an evening when productions with celebrity talent were often overlooked.

The Savoy theatre adaptation of Billy Wilder’s classic 1950 film about the dark side of the Hollywood dream took home best actor in a musical for Tom Francis and best actress in a musical for Scherzinger. Lloyd – described as creating “a stupendous sense of reinvention” by the Guardian – won best director.