Seven heaven as Brits grab top acting gongs at Emmys

David Suchet called it an "unbelievable night for the Brits" after he secured the best actor Emmy for his portrayal of Robert Maxwell in a biography series about the disgraced media tycoon.

He was joined by Lucy Cohu, who won the best actress category for her role in the harrowing drama Forgiven, about a suburban housewife who reports her husband for sexually abusing their daughter.

Speaking backstage at the ceremony at the New York Hilton Hotel, Suchet, 62, said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to bits, I can't believe it's really true.

"This is my first Emmy, and I can't tell you what it feels like to win for England because it's international, and to represent my acting community as well."

British actors and programmes dominated the 36th International Emmy awards, which is regarded as the most prestigious event in television.

Cohu, 37, who lives in Kensal Green, won at her second attempt after being nominated in 2005 for her breakthrough performance playing Princess Margaret in The Queen's Sister.

She said: "This is the first award I've won. You don't do this for awards, but they do open doors." On her role in Forgiven, she added: "This was such a small film - we shot it in two weeks with no money, it was a really important story so it's about that, the importance of something being recognised."

BBC's acclaimed time-travelling detective show Life On Mars picked up its second International Emmy for best drama series. It first won the award in 2006. The corporation also scooped the children's award with Shaun The Sheep.

Channel 4's The IT Crowd, which centres on a group of socially inept computer geeks received the Emmy in the comedy category. Strictly Bolshoi won the arts category. It told the story of the first Englishman, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, to create an original work for Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet. Channel 4's The Beckoning Silence, depicting a mountaineer's tragic battle for survival on the Eiger, won best documentary prize.

A controversial Dutch hoax-reality programme in which a terminally ill woman decided which of three patients would receive her kidney, won the Emmy for non-scripted entertainment.

The winners were chosen from among 40 nominees from 16 countries.