Sopranos on a high
The Sopranos won a host of honours at America's leading TV awards show - but lost out to The West Wing for the top prize. The White House drama featuring the President that many Americans wished they could have voted for was named best drama at the Emmys in Los Angeles, the fourth time it has taken the award.
The Sopranos had been expected to win the accolade for best drama after James Gandolfini, who plays the troubled mobster, and Edie Falco, who portrays his long-suffering wife, were named best actor and actress in a drama.
Backstage, Gandolfini acknowledged The West Wing's triumph, saying: "My work has been acknowledged already, it's time for everybody else's work to be acknowledged."
But he speculated that the Sopranos' subject matter may have set it at a disadvantage against the feel-good factor of The West Wing, which stars Martin Sheen as the president.
"A show about thieves and drugs turns people off," he said. Another star of The Sopranos, Joe Pantoliano, whose character was killed off in the last series, also won an Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama.
Will & Grace co-star Debra Messing was named best actress in a comedy, beating last year's winner Jennifer Aniston of Friends. Messing had been nominated four times for the Living TV show, but had never won an Emmy.
"Oh my God," she said. "I never thought this was going to happen." Later she said: "This is a huge honour and a dream come true. The women in my category were extraordinary peers of mine. I can't imagine it being more sweet, I really can't."
In the mini-series or movie category, Dame Maggie Smith won lead actress for My House in Umbria.
But fellow Brits Simon Cowell and Nigel Lythgoe failed to pick up the honour of outstanding reality show for their hotly-tipped American Idol series.
In a surprise decision, the Emmy went to Jerry Bruckheimer's The Amazing Race. Cowell told the Standard afterwards: "The show that won - The Amazing Race - I'd not even heard of until the nominations were announced. I've never even seen it. Awards don't mean anything - all they serve to do is swell the egos of the winners."
In the best comedy category, Everybody Loves Raymond beat Friends, which is soon to start filming its last series. One of the stars of the show, David Schwimmer, said he plans to direct his co-star Matt Le Blanc in a spin-off show.
Jennifer Aniston attended without her husband Brad Pitt, who is filming Greek epic Troy in London.
Cagney And Lacey actress Tyne Daly was named best supporting actress in a TV drama for her role in Judging Amy.
The Emmys are on Living TV, exclusively, from 8.30 tonight.
