Entertainment

The Crown’s John Lithgow wins first Emmy Award of the night

The Briton won the first award of the night for his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill.
The Briton won the first award of the night for his portrayal of Sir Winston Churchill.

John Lithgow scooped the first Emmy Award of the night for his role as Sir Winston Churchill in The Crown.

The actor said it was “simply wonderful” to win best supporting actor in a drama series in Los Angeles on Sunday at what is television’s biggest night.

Lithgow praised his “wonderful” British co-star Claire Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series, which has 13 nominations.

The 71-year-old added: “Most of all I have to thank Winston Churchill. In these crazy times his life, even as an old man, reminds us what courage and leadership in government really looks like.”

Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon was next awarded best supporting actress in a comedy series.

She tearfully said appearing in this season of the comedy show, during which she has played Donald Trump aide Kellyanne Conway and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, was the “most meaningful thing I will ever do”.

Host Stephen Colbert, as expected, quickly broke into jokes on the night about the US president, who he called the “biggest TV star of the last year” for influencing shows’ plot-lines.

He mocked Mr Trump’s previous allegations of the Emmys being rigged and said if he had won an award for his appearance on Celebrity Apprentice he may never have run for office.

The President’s fired press secretary Sean Spicer came on stage to joke “this will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys – period”, in a reference to the debacle over numbers attending Mr Trump’s inauguration speech.

The 69th Emmy Awards are being held at the Microsoft Theatre.