PLATT'S FOR

Soap legend Helen presented with special award at glitzy night by on-screen son after 50 years on famous Corrie cobbles.

- DIANNE BOURNE

STARS of the North West TV industry were celebrated at the annual Royal Television Society (RTS) awards in Manchester.

The awards ceremony saw TV favourites compete across 24 categories with some of the biggest stars in TV in attendance at the ceremony at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel on Friday night in Manchester.

Across the 24 competitive categories, viewer favourites, including Hollyoaks, Coronation Street, Brassic and Waterloo Road, all received nods, while the two big regional shows of BBC North West Tonight and ITV's Granada Reports battled it out across a string of news awards.

Big winners on the night included supernatural drama Domino Day, which was filmed around Manchester's Northern Quarter which scooped two awards. The BBC's Morning Live, filmed at Media City, also claimed three awards on the night including Best Factual Series and Best Presenter for Gethin Jones amid wild celebrations from the team in attendance.

Gethin said in accepting the Best Factual Series award: "I think we are in a little bit of shock." Coronation Street star Peter Ash won best performance in a continuing drama after his heartbreaking Paul Foreman motor neurone disease storyline, which also won an award on the night. Peter said: "Doing this storyline has been the proudest moment of my career."

And there was a standing ovation on the night as the Judges' Award was bestowed on Helen Worth, Corrie's Gail Rodwell, after her 50-year-career on the soap. She was presented on the night by her soap son, Jack P Shepherd, and gave an emotional speech thanking the soap's cast and crew over the years.