Sir Kenneth Branagh and Anna Friel win big for the Brits at International Emmy Awards

Sir Kenneth Branagh won best actor and Anna Friel best actress on a successful night for British talent at the International Emmy Awards in New York.

Steve Coogan collected the prize for best comedy for his Sky series Alan Partridge’s Scissored Isle.

Sir Kenneth won for his role as Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in the BBC drama series Wallander, which has won an American following on public television’s Masterpiece channel.

Friel was awarded for her performance as DS Marcella Backland in ITV crime show Marcella.

BBC2’s Exodus: Our Journey To Europe, which charted the travels of Syrian refugees trying to smuggle themselves into Europe, won the documentary award.

Kevin Spacey, who had been announced as the 2017 recipient of the International Emmy founders award, had his honour rescinded last month after allegations of his past sexual misconduct became public.

Sir Kenneth, 56, Friel, 41, and Coogan, 52, were among 11 winning performers and programmes spanning eight countries.

The awards are presented annually by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which represents more than 60 countries and 500 companies from all sectors of TV, including internet and mobile technology.

The evening, at the Hilton Midtown, was hosted by the Iranian-American comedian and actor Maz Jobrani, who joked: “The International Emmys are like the World Cup of TV, and like the World Cup a lot of Americans don’t know it’s happening.”