Glitz, glamour, tears and tantrums: it is that time of year again – awards season.

Watching famous filmmakers and actors competing against each other for the ultimate prize, a golden statuette, is addictive.

Awards ceremonies are essentially a Hollywood back-slapping exercise but they are not without risks. One bad acceptance speech (I'm looking at you, Sally Field) and you will struggle to get a decent role for at least a decade afterwards.

The season kicked off in style on Sunday night with the Golden Globes, and next up is the unfortunately named SAG (Screen Actors Guild) awards on January 27, before the crowning glory in the awards calendar, the Academy Awards, take place on February 24.

Actors can make or break their reputation as a style icon during awards season. Yet many A-listers often make terrible fashion choices, even though they employ top stylists to dress them and have their pick of the best gowns from prestigious fashion brands. Take Lucy Liu at this year's Golden Globes. Her ill-advised Carolina Herrera gown looked like a set of bloom-covered curtains from a retirement home.

Awards season can be terribly vacuous, but immensely enjoyable. And there is no doubt the film and fashion industries benefit from these high-profile events, with tons of free advertising for the labels the stars choose to wear and a guaranteed increase in cinema admission and DVD sales for the movies that win big.

My favourite thing about awards season is seeing a famous actor unconvincingly clap and smile when they fail to win their category. If there was an Oscar handed out to the best loser, I suspect they would struggle to find someone to award it to.