If you’re like me, you’re probably a bit cynical of awards. That’s because more deserving agencies can often be overlooked either because they don’t enter or just prefer not to shout about their accomplishments.

That said, we’re getting to know some of the players, big and small in this modest $24bn industry, and it’s good to see some deserved successes at last night’s UK Research Excellence Awards in London (not that we had the privilege of being there, we had to wait like the rest of the hoi polloi for the list of winners).

Congratulations to all winners and nominees, and particularly to those who have graced our podcasts including Danny Wain, Jem Fawcus, John Samuels, Marc Brenner, Ruth Buchanan, Steve Wills, Flamingo International, Nunwood and Spring Research.