Olivia Colman paid an emotional tribute to her late father at the Emmy Awards on Sunday night as she took home a top prize for The Crown.
The British star was named Outstanding Lead Actress at last night’s ceremony for her role of Queen Elizabeth II.
But as she accepted her gong, Olivia took a moment to remember her dad, revealing he died "during Covid".
“Thank you very much. I’d have put money on that not happening,” Olivia said as she took to the podium. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you very much for this, this is amazing.
“What a lovely end to the most extraordinary journey with this lovely family. I’ve loved every second of it and I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
“I’m going to be very quick as I’m very teary, as I wish my dad was here to see this,” the actress admitted, choking up with tears before regaining her composure.
“I lost my daddy during Covid, and he would have loved all of this,” she told viewers at home.
She ended her speech on a lighter note, praising fellow Brit and award winner Michaela Coel by declaring: “Michaela Coel - f**k yeah!”
This was Olivia’s final year performing as the Queen, having now passed over the role to Imelda Staunton, who will play the Royal through the final seasons.
At the ceremony last night, she beat out stiff competition in the form of co-star Emma Corrin, who played Princess Diana, Elisabeth Moss for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, Uzo Aduba for In Treatment, Jurnee Smollett for Lovecraft Country, and MJ Rodriguez for Pose.
The Crown took home seven awards at the ceremony, including nods for best writing and best directing.
Gillian Anderson won best supporting actress for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, Josh O’Connor was celebrated as best lead actor in playing Prince Charles, and Tobias Menzies won best supporting actor for his role as Prince Philip.
Meanwhile, Michaela Coel became the first Black woman to win the best writing award for harrowing drama, I May Destroy You, which tracks the aftermath of a woman coming to terms with a sexual assault.
Dedicating her award to the survivors of sexual assault, she told viewers to ‘write the tale that scares you’.
