The family of top York actress Dame Judi Dench were celebrating today after her triumph at the Oscars ceremony.

Dame Judi won the Best Supporting Actress Award for her eight-minute role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.

Her success followed a big disappointment last year when she missed out on the Best Actress Award for her portrayal of Queen Victoria in Mrs Brown.

Shakespeare in Love also secured a big success for Pocklington School old boy Sir Tom Stoppard.

He co-wrote the comedy, which won Best Original Screenplay.

Sir Tom is a patron of Pocklington School's Performing Arts Centre, along with Dame Judi. A school spokeswoman said they were "very pleased" by the patrons' double triumph.

Dame Judi's brother, retired GP Dr Peter Dench, revealed today he was so disappointed by her failure to win last year that he didn't wait up for this year's ceremony. He was doubly delighted when he heard the news today.

"My parents would have been overjoyed, there's no doubt about that," he said.

He had not expected his sister's triumph. "After my dismay last year I had hardened myself against it," he added.

Any family celebrations would have to be put on hold, because he was not expecting to see his sister until August.

Dame Judi is in the United States rehearsing for the transfer of the London stage hit Amy's View to Broadway.

Dame Judi, 64, who has played M in the last two James Bond films, won a Golden Globe and her first Oscar nomination for Mrs Brown last year.

She attended the Mount School in York, Britain's only all-girls independent Quaker school, and claimed last year she was an "appalling" pupil, getting involved in a number of pranks.

After today's Oscars triumph she thanked Shakespeare in Love director John Madden, saying after she worked with him on Mrs Brown she told him she would do anything to be in his next film.

Holding the Oscar, she added: "For only eight minutes on the screen I feel I should only get a little bit of him."

Shakespeare in Love won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

The film Elizabeth, which was partly shot at York Minster, won an Oscar for best make-up, but the widely acclaimed Little Voice, which was partly made in Scarborough, failed to carry off any awards.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.