Tamara Tunie wins Daytime Emmy for lead actress in soaps

Scott Clifton of “The Bold and the Beautiful” and Tamara Tunie of “Beyond the Gates” won lead acting honours at the 53rd annual Daytime Emmys on Friday night, with “General Hospital” honored as outstanding drama series for a record 19th time overall and sixth in a row.

Clifton plays Liam Spencer on the CBS show. It’s his second lead actor trophy, having won in 2017, to go with previous wins as younger actor and supporting actor that made him the first male actor to sweep all three categories.

He beat out a heavyweight field of veterans Eric Braeden, Steve Burton, Thorsten Kaye and Christian Jules LeBlanc. “I’m speechless,” Clifton said. “This means so much to me, not the thing, the atta boy from my peers. I think of few things that bring me more joy than that.” Tunie plays strong-willed matriarch Anita Dupree on “Beyond the Gates,” which debuted on CBS last year featuring the first primarily Black cast since “Generations” in the 1990s and the first new network soap since 1999.

Tunie made her daytime debut in 1987 on “As the World Turns,” leaving in 2009, a year before the CBS show ended. “My heart is so full right now,” Tunie said. “This is the best welcome back to daytime ever. There is a host of Black actresses who paved the way for me, and I feel them as I stand here.”

Along with its outstanding drama series award, ABC’s “General Hospital” also earned trophies for writing and guest performance in a daytime drama for Jeff Kober. Roger Howarth and Beth Maitland of “The Young and the Restless” swept the supporting acting categories, with both winning decades after their first triumphs. Howarth currently plays Matt Clark on the CBS soap. He first won in 1994 in the younger actor category for his breakout role as Todd Manning on “One Life to Live.”

Maitland was honoured for playing Traci Abbott, a role she originated in 1982 – the year of her first supporting actress win – and has played off and on ever since. “Every one of you a winner, every one of you a part of the contribution daytime makes in a world gone mad, offering just a few minutes of relief – to laugh, to cry and to celebrate,” she said in tribute to her peers.

Genie Francis, who began her role on “General Hospital” at age 14 in 1977, received the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by her actor-director husband, Jonathan Frakes. She was teary-eyed watching a video of career highlights before taking the stage, supported by her two children because she’s recovering from a broken right ankle.

“I know 50 years sounds like an awfully long time, but it doesn’t feel like it to me,” Francis said. “As they say, if you love what you do you don’t work a day in your life. I wouldn’t go that far because doing a party scene in high heels is hard work.”

Francis said she’s worked with “all the greats,” ticking off such names as Anthony Geary, Erika Slezak, David Canary, Maurice Bernard, Michael Knight and Eric Braeden. “I have had the most amazing ride and I am so grateful,” she said. “I would do it all over again if I could.”

Tracee Ellis Ross won in the travel and adventure category for her Roku show “Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross.” “Wow, how fun is this?” Ross said, while thanking the countries of Morocco, Mexico and Spain. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, lost in the lifestyle program category.

She was nominated for her Netflix show “With Love, Meghan” that ran for two seasons, but the Prime Video documentary series “A Different Breed” about competitive canine sports prevailed in that category. Ambyr Michelle of CBS’ “Beyond the Gates” won for emerging talent in a daytime drama, the second year the award was handed out.

Associated Press