IT’S been a good 24 hours for British TV drama.
First came news that the opening episode of Cranford had been watched by no fewer than eight million viewers, beating I’m A Celebrity.
Then, in the early hours of today, another BBC1 drama hit the headlines.
The Street – filmed in Salford and Manchester – scooped two International Emmy Awards in New York.
That’s executive producer Sita Williams pictured picking up the best drama series award.
Jim Broadbent, who played warehouse foreman Stan (pictured below), was voted best actor.
As you can read in later editions of today’s MEN, it was a night of triumph for British TV, with seven wins from eight nominations.
The online version of the story is here.
A second series of The Street is currently being screened every Thursday night.

YOU can just imagine the holiday postcard home.
Weather lovely, food great, bumped into Nelson Mandela.
That’s what happened to Robson Green – as he told us this afternoon.
“We had one of our best New Year’s last year,” he said at the launch of a new Wire In The Blood film.
Robson, wife Vanya and son Taylor were on holiday in the Indian Ocean.
“The owner of the hotel went, ‘Bring Taylor, bring Vanya – a special guest is arriving.’
“It was Nelson Mandela. So that was pretty extraordinary.
“He waved and said hello to Taylor.”

THERE’S a real treat on TV tonight, and make no mistake.
The story behind the making of Cranford is almost as engrossing as the serial itself.
But there are fears for the long-term future of BBC period drama.
“I think there won’t be that many more Cranfords because of the scale and cost of it,” director Simon Curtis told me.
“I very much hope that the BBC will keep on making unique programmes like that.
“But you can’t take anything for granted in the current climate because everything is up for grabs.
“It’s a huge show and it took years to make. A lot of things were aligned.”
I also asked BBC Head of Drama Series & Serials Kate Harwood about the future for projects like Cranford.

X Factor winner Shayne Ward thinks they can go all the way in this year’s contest.
Now Girls Aloud have told Hope they aren’t threatened by the prospect of another girl group in the charts.
It’s disco week in The X Factor tonight.
Hope’s Raquelle Gracie told me this week about meeting both Shayne last Saturday and this evening’s special guests Girls Aloud on Thursday.
“I told Shayne that we both had something in common, coming from Manchester.”
He, in turn, told Hope they could do very well this year.
Raquelle also expanded on a comment by judge Louis Walsh on last week’s live show.
He urged girls to get behind Hope.

YOU know what you have to do.
Watch Children In Need on BBC1 from 7pm tonight – and make a donation.
It’s another terrific line-up, including Kylie, The Spice Girls and Sugababes.
Add Joseph’s Lee Mead, Doctor Who, the cast of Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing stars.
Then blend in Denise Van Outen, John Barrowman plus Jason Donovan and you’ve got a recipe for a great night in.
You can read more here and here, and donate here.
BBC Weather presenter Carol Kirkwood has already shed blood for the cause.
She was involved in what could have been a nasty accident during a charity tandem bike ride yesterday.
Breakfast sports host Chris Hollins was in charge of the steering, with Carol on the second set of pedals.

IT is all go in Cranford.
The stars were out at last night’s premiere of the major new BBC1 period drama.
They included cast members, led by Dame Judi Dench and Dame Eileen Atkins.
There were also plenty of candles and oranges at the post-screening party, where I had a chat with Life On Mars star Philip Glenister.
It was held at the very elegant Dartmouth House in London’s Mayfair.
The reason for those candles and oranges will become clear when you watch the first episode at 9pm this Sunday.
Phil leaves Gene Hunt behind, just for a while, to play Mr Carter, land agent to Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis).
He’s a reformer and has some lovely scenes later in the series when he becomes determined to educate 10-year-old Harry Gregson.
The delicious opening episode features a performance from Mr Glenister of elegant economy, as they say in Cranford.
He also gets to shout: “The trout can wait!”

THE guilty verdict and life sentence for killer Ronald Castree today finally brings justice for Lesley Molseed’s family.
But it comes too late for the innocent man who spent 16 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit.
I was at the Appeal Court in London on Friday Dec 20 1991 when a judge ordered the release of Stefan Kiszko – pictured.
The MEN front page that night was headlined: “Kidnap Case ‘Killer’ Freed”
But there was to be no happy ending for Stefan.
Some seven years later, ITV screened an acclaimed film about the former tax clerk.
It was called A Life For A Life.
Below is one of the features I wrote about the drama, telling just part of a heartbreaking story for two families.

JUST a reminder not to miss one of the TV dramas of the year tonight.
My Boy Jack will certainly be in the running when the awards are handed out.
In particular, David Haig as Rudyard Kipling and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe as his son John – known as Jack.
“I certainly felt a lot in common with my character,” said Daniel at the Imperial War Museum screening this week.
David not only gives a superb performance as Kipling, he also wrote the drama.
“I’m more interested in the individual devastation a single loss in a war creates,” he explained.
“And the collateral damage to families, friends, relations, for generations to come.
“One single loss does that.
“On the morning of John’s death, 7,500 soldiers set off equal chain reactions, destruction within families.”

TEARS flowed when Hope found themselves in the bottom two of last week’s X Factor.
But singer Raquelle Gracie told me that the girl group were determined to bounce back tomorrow night.
They’ll be singing the Amy Winehouse song Back To Black.
She was also honest enough to admit that evicted boy band Futureproof were unlucky to be sent home by the judges.
“I believe that the boys did a better vocal job on Saturday night than we did,” said Manchester-born Raquelle.
There’s a story in today’s MEN Diary – the online version is here.
But for X Factor fans, here are some of Raquelle’s quotes, plus a few extras.