Comedian Al Murray has been announced as the host of the newly-revamped newsawards.

The awards, known as the Newspaper Awards until this year, have been rebranded with the aim of celebrating commercial achievement and digital innovation.

Murray, pictured left, best known for his Pub Landlord character, will present the awards ceremony on Wednesday 29 April.

Judging of the awards’ categories has now taken place, with nominations set to be announced this week.

Awards director Gary Cullum said: “After 18 years the awards have a fresh new format that focuses on three distinct category sections – print, digital and business.

“The industry has, and continues to, change hugely, and the awards team felt the awards had to be refreshed to reflect these changes.

“The printed newspaper remains absolutely key to the industry, continuing to generate a huge percentage of revenue.

“The awards dovetail with this – the core printed product, surrounded and complemented by a portfolio of multiplatform, multimedia offerings.”

The ceremony will take place at the London Lancaster Hotel, opposite Hyde Park.