TORONTO - The gritty cable drama "Durham County" and the CBC miniseries "The Englishman's Boy" ruled over the sexy historical series "The Tudors" at the Gemini Awards Friday, picking up multiple trophies at a glitzy televised event recognizing the most high-profile categories of the TV awards.
"Durham County," which airs on the Movie Network and Movie Central, earned three awards, including best actor for Justin Louis, best actress for Helene Joy and best direction for Holly Dale. Dale's award was handed out in a non-televised portion just before the gala hit the air on E and Showcase.
CBC's "The Englishman's Boy" was named best dramatic miniseries, while its star Nicholas Campbell took the best actor title. Those wins were in addition to four Geminis it picked up at a ceremony last month.
Producer Kevin DeWalt said he knew from the moment he read Guy Vanderhaeghe's novel, on which the project was based, that he had to put the story on screen. But he says it took him 10 years to gain the clout and financing to do the $12 million production.
"The feeling is that historical Canadian history isn't what Canadian audiences want," DeWalt said backstage, clutching his hardware.
"I think it's important for Canadians to hear our own stories, for us in the West to tell our own stories and particularly in Saskatchewan, our Saskatchewan stories. But for now, it's never been harder to do historical drama in this country."
Jonathan Rhys Meyers' King Henry VIII drama "The Tudors," also on CBC, was among the big winners in a private ceremony held last month, netting four trophies.
Former "90210" hunk Jason Priestley hosted Friday's star-studded party, while current "90210" star Shenae Grimes was among the homegrown luminaries that appeared as presenters. Kids In the Hall funnyman Dave Foley, "Friday Night Light"'s Taylor Kitsch and "The Tudors"' Natalie Dormer were among the other stars.
The best drama series was the Vancouver-based "Intelligence," a CBC crime show that was cancelled earlier this year despite being embraced by critics.
Meanwhile, the rock 'n' roll mockumentary "Cock'd Gunns," an IFC show, won for best writing in a comedy series and best ensemble performance in a comedy.
The glamorous night put the spotlight on the industry's most coveted awards, but most Geminis were handed out last month at a series of non-televised ceremonies.
Other early winners included the CBC's "The National," "The Fifth Estate" and "Hockey Night in Canada," which each snagged three trophies.
On Friday, CBC's veteran news parody "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" beat out CTV's ratings giant "Corner Gas" for best comedy, while George Stroumboulopoulos was named best talk show host for his night-time chatfest, "The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos," also on CBC.
The best actress trophy for work in a dramatic program or miniseries went to Natasha Henstridge, who appeared in CTV's "Would Be Kings."
CBC's "Ron MacLean" was named best sports host for his duties on "Hockey Day in Canada," while Ian Hanomansing won the trophy for best anchor for CBC's supper-hour newscast in Vancouver.
"Project Runway Canada" on Slice was named best reality program or series.
Citytv's 19th century detective series "Murdoch Mysteries" had led the pack with 14 nominations overall but walked away with just two wins in the non-broadcast portion of the awards.
