BBC has a Dickens of a night at the Emmys

Published on Monday 21 September 2009 22:05

THE BBC's production of Little Dorrit proved that small can be beautiful when it hit the big time at the US's prestigious Emmy Awards.

The Charles Dickens adaptation took home seven awards, including the gong for outstanding mini-series.

Meanwhile, Irish actor Brendan Gleeson was named outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in the acclaimed BBC biopic Into The Storm.

Accepting the award, Gleeson, 54, said: "Now there's a turn-up for the books."

Into The Storm, a joint BBC/HBO venture, won a second award for its musical score.

But it was beaten to the best TV movie title by the US drama Grey Gardens, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, who won a leading actress gong for the role.

Other notable winners during the evening included Alec Baldwin who took home an Emmy for best actor in a comedy, one of a slew of gongs taken home by 30 Rock, a satire created by comedian Tina Fey about a television show, including the title of Outstanding Comedy.

Glenn Close took home the title for lead actress in a drama for her starring role in Damages, with Bryan Cranston taking the male title for his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad.

In so doing, Cranston beat British comedian-turned-actor Hugh Laurie, who was nominated for his portrayal as Dr Gregory House in the popular US medical series House. The show, which has a large British following, also missed out in the category of best drama, this time to popular series Mad Men.

However, Little Dorrit proved to be the sensation of the night.

Even before the televised segment of the award show began, the series had already lifted a clutch of trophies, including those for art direction, costumes and cinematography.

It garnered more titles as the evening progressed, with Dearbhla Walsh taking home the award for outstanding directing of a mini-series, movie or a dramatic special.

Writer Andrew Davies also won an award for penning the script.

The evening of success for Little Dorrit culminated in its being named best mini-series – one of the event's most prestigious awards.

Accepting the award, executive producer Anne Pivcevic said: "We are thrilled that Little Dorrit has gone down so well this side of the Atlantic."

But not everything went the way of the BBC drama. Actors Sir Tom Courtenay and Andy Serkis – both nominated for supporting roles in Little Dorrit – lost out to Ken Howard for his role in Grey Gardens.

During a poignant break from the awards, the star-studded audience paused to pay tribute to stars of television who had died in recent months.

Those remembered included The Golden Girls' Bea Arthur and British actress Natasha Richardson. The biggest round of applause was for Patrick Swayze, whose death came just days before yesterday's ceremony.

WHO WON WHAT

MAIN winners in the 2009 Emmys

Outstanding comedy series: 30 Rock

Outstanding drama series: Mad Men

Best reality competition programme: The Amazing Race

Best actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin, below, for 30 Rock

Best actress in a comedy series: Toni Collette for United States of Tara

Best supporting actor in a drama series: Michael Emerson for Lost

Best supporting actress in a drama series: Cherry Jones for 24

Best supporting actor in a comedy series: Jon Cryer for Two and a Half Men

Best supporting actress in a comedy series: Kristin Chenoweth for Pushing Daisies

Outstanding directing for a mini-series: Dearbhla Walsh for Little Dorrit

Outstanding lead actor in a mini-series: Brendan Gleeson for Into The Storm

Outstanding mini-series: Little Dorrit

Outstanding writing for a mini-series: Andrew Davies for Little Dorrit

Outstanding variety, music or comedy series: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Outstanding supporting Actress in a mini-series: Shohreh Aghdashloo for House of Saddam.