Winners of the Best Actress in a Musical - the Matildas

Matilda the Musical swept the boards at the Olivier Awards with its “four little miracles” in the title role sharing the limelight and the gongs.

The girls, Cleo Demetriou, Kerry Ingram, Sophia Kiely and Eleanor Worthington-Cox, were named joint winners of the Best Actress in a Musical award.

One of the girls - 10-year-old Eleanor - made history becoming the youngest ever winner of an Olivier.

The show, based on the Roald Dahl book, won seven awards including Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Bertie Carvel.

The ceremony at the Royal Opera House switched to New York via a live link when Best Director winner Matthew Warchus picked up his award from James Earl Jones for his work on Matilda.

Earlier in the night, stars including Ronan Keating, Sir Tim Rice and Dan Stevens met fans and posed for photographs on the red carpet.

The bash - the biggest night in theatreland - also attracted names including Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh and Kara Tointon to the ceremony in Covent Garden.

The event was hosted by Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton and shown on a big screen in Covent Garden.

The first big winner was Sheridan Smith who was recognised for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her performance in Flare Path.

Also getting gongs were Luther-star Ruth Wilson who was named Best Actress and Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch who shared the Best Actor gong for their role in Frankenstein.

Long-running musical Les Miserables won the Radio 2 Olivier Audience Award voted for by the general public.

Sir Tim Rice was given an Olivier Special award and the National Theatre’s Collaborators was awarded MasterCard Best New Play Award.