Sir David Attenborough not present at Emmy awards as he breaks record as oldest Daytime award winner at 99
Sir David Attenborough has broken the record for the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy but was sadly not at the ceremony to collect the gong.
Broadcaster and national treasure, Sir David Attenborough, has been awarded a Daytime Emmy at the grand old age of 99, making him the oldest ever recipient of the accolade. The natural history expert broke the record previously set by Dick Van Dyke.
Sadly, Attenborough was not present at the awards ceremony in Pasadena, California, to collect the gong for ‘daytime personality - non-daily’ which he won as host of Netflix’s Secret Lives of Orangutans. Van Dyke was 98 when he won as guest performer in a daytime drama series for Days of Our Lives in 2024.
Elsewhere at the ceremony, Scottish actor Paul Telfer of Days of Our Lives and Nancy Lee Grahn of General Hospital, which was named best drama series amid six major category wins, collected lead acting honours. Telfer, 45, has played Xander Kiriakis on the Peacock show since 2015.
“My mom always loved soaps and she loved villains,” he said. “She’s been gone for over 20 years, and so to win this on a soap opera playing the villain is really amazing. Thanks, Mom.”
General Hospital also claimed trophies for Alley Mills as guest performer in a daytime drama and its writing team. It was Mills’ second career win for playing Heather Webber. The 74-year-old, who first won in 2023, is best known as the mother on The Wonder Years.
“We’re living in really dark times right now. Everything’s crazy,” Mills told the audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. We just got to keep our spirits high.”
Drew Barrymore claimed her first win as daytime talk series host for her eponymous New York-based show.