Date: 25th September 2012

Emmy Awards: British Stars Scoop Honours


Damian Lewis and Dame Maggie Smith have emerged as the big British winners at the Emmy Awards.

Lewis beat fellow Brit Hugh Bonneville, Steve Buscemi and Jon Hamm to win Outstanding Lead Actor for his widely-praised portrayal of Sgt Nick Brody in the espionage thriller Homeland.

The star hailed a "golden age" of television during his acceptance speech at the ceremony in Los Angeles.

"I'm one of those pesky Brits, I apologise. I don't really believe in judging art, but I thought I'd show up just in case," he said.

"What an extraordinary honour to be in a category with these golden actors setting a gold standard in acting in a golden age of TV."

"The cast that I work with who are delightful and enjoyable to dine with but especially to the two ladies who've suffered me the most, Claire Danes and Morena Baccarin."

"You're both beautiful and it's enjoyable working with you, every minute of it."

Lewis' co-star Danes picked up the award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of mentally disturbed FBI agent Carrie Mathison.

Homeland also beat Downton Abbey, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, among others, to win the award for the Best Drama Series.

The show, said to be one of President Barack Obama's favourite TV programmes, was the big winner on the night with six gongs in total.

Veteran actress Dame Maggie saw off competition from Downton Abbey co-star Joanne Froggatt and Mad Men's Christina Hendricks to win Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Armando Iannucci's new US show, Veep, missed out on the award for Outstanding Comedy Series but its star Julia Louis-Dreyfus did take home the gong for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Source: Press Release