Who won what at the Emmys: Game of Thrones, Sherlock, OJ Simpson

Downton Abbey, Sherlock, John le Carré and the predominantly British cast of Game of Thrones were the toasts of the town as the TV industry rolled out the red carpet for its most prestigious, and expensive, productions.

The Emmy Awards, staged each year on the eve of the new TV season, honour the biggest and best shows on American screens. In these days of international co-productions, those are by no means all American.

Dame Maggie Smith, whose absence was the butt of jokes by the host, late night presenter Jimmy Kimmel, was named best supporting actress for her role as Downton’s Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Game Of Thrones, filmed largely in Northern Ireland, celebrated a record-breaking night, having now taken taken 38 Emmys - one more than the Nineties sitcom Frasier - to become TV’s most-awarded narrative show.

The British comedian John Oliver, whose satirical show in New York has been credited with helping to set the agenda for the presidential election coverage, beat the venerable Jerry Seinfeld to the award for best variety series.

And James Corden, the London-born actor and writer who made his name on the BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey, took the Emmy for best variety special, for his Carpool Karaoke segment.

Corden, a near-unknown in America 18 months ago, is now in talks to bring his successful late night show to the UK for a limited run.

He has won plaudits since taking over the 12.30am talk programme from Scottish comic Craig Ferguson, especially for the impromptu Carpool Karaoke sketches, which attract tens of millions of views on YouTube.

His bandleader Reggie Watts said after the Emmys: “I love the UK. We’re thinking of maybe, possibly bringing the show there. Just for fun, for a couple of shows. I think that would be absolutely wonderful.”

John le Carré’s 1993 novel, The Night Manager, which was made into a BBC mini-series starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman, won a best director award for Susanne Bier, and The Abominable Bride, an episode of the corporation’s Sherlock franchise, was named best TV movie.

The much-anticipated special featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, had left some viewers puzzled when it was broadcast on New Year’s Day. Cumberbatch had been nominated for his acting role in the episode, but went away empty-handed - as did his co-star, and Freeman’s off-screen partner, Amanda Abbington, whose purse was stolen from underneath her seat when she joined them onstage.

Sherlock’s writer, Steven Moffat, managed to bring the controversy surrounding The Great British Bake Off to a US audience as he joined them on the podium, saying: “Thank you to the BBC, who we love above all bakery. British people will get that.”

Moffat later revealed that Sherlock had also attracted counter offers from rival broadcasters, which he had rejected.

Hollywood did not neglect to showcase its home-grown product, showering awards on The People vs OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, which it named outstanding limited series.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy - her fifth in a row - for her role in the political satire Veep, the American version of the BBC’s The Thick Of It, and paid a heartfelt tribute to her father, who had died last Friday.

Jeffrey Tambor was best lead actor in a comedy series for his role as a transgender parent in the Amazon series, Transparent.

The show’s creator, Jill Soloway, used the occasion to denounce Donald Trump, telling reporters backstage that he was the “inheritor to Hitler” and “the most dangerous monster to ever approach our lifetimes”.

Orphan Black, a BBC America series about woman with a troubled past as an English orphan, was another winner, its star Tatiana Maslany taking the award for best actress in a drama series.

ALL THE WINNERS

• Supporting actor in a comedy series - Louie Anderson, Baskets

• Writing for a comedy series - Aziz Ansari, Alan Yang for Master Of None

• Supporting actress in a comedy series - Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

• Directing for a comedy series - Jill Soloway, Transparent

• Lead actress in a comedy series - Julia Louis-Dreyfuss

• Lead actor in a comedy - Jeffrey Tambor

• Reality-competition programme - The Voice

• Writing in a limited series or movie - DV BeVincentis, People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

• Supporting actress in a limited series or movie - Regina King, American Crime

• Directing in a limited series or movie - Susanne Bier, The Night Manager

• Supporting actor in a limited Series or movie - Sterling K Brown, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

• Actress in a limited series or movie - Sarah Paulson, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

• Actor in a limited series or movie - Courtney B Vance, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

• Television Movie - Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

• Limited series - The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

• Writing for a variety special - Patton Oswalt, Talking For Clapping

• Variety talk series - Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

• Directing for a variety special - Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski for Grease Live

• Variety sketch series - Key & Peele

• Writing for a drama series - David Benioff and DB Weiss for Game Of Thrones

• Supporting actress in a drama series - Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

• Directing for a drama series - Miguel Sapochnik, Game Of Thrones

• Supporting actor in a drama series - Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline

• Actor in a drama series - Rami Malek, Mr Robot

• Actress in a drama series - Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

• Comedy series - Veep

• Drama series - Game Of Thrones