George Lucas wins first Emmy award for Star Wars: Clone Wars

Star Wars creator accepts his first Emmy Award (AP)

Star Wars creator George Lucas has won his first ever Emmy award for the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars.

He was presented with the Daytime Emmy award by Princess Leia actress Carrie Fisher at a ceremony in Hollywood yesterday.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show earned its seventh Emmy as outstanding talk show entertainment.

While Ricki Lake, whose daytime comeback has recently been cancelled, won outstanding talk show host.

The Daytime Emmys moved back to Southern California last year after being in Las Vegas for two years, and its ratings, like many of the daytime shows it celebrates, have bounced up and down in recent years. Last year, HLN scored its highest numbers ever for a scheduled non-news broadcast when it aired the awards for the first time.

Good Morning America weather anchor Sam Champion, along with HLN network's A.J. Hammer and Robin Meade, hosted the 40th annual show.

In an effort to liven up the proceedings, the night's biggest winners were chatted up, sometimes awkwardly, on stage by celebrities right after their acceptance speeches.

"All I could think about was, 'Please, I got up here without successfully falling out of my dress, so please just get me off the stage,"' said Heather Tom of The Bold and the Beautiful, who won the best actress gong. "I don't even remember what I said."

Doug Davidson of The Young and the Restless won best actor. He had been nominated seven times in various categories for playing Detective Paul Williams on the CBS soap.

"It suddenly occurs to me that the presenters are younger than my tux," he said. "I would like to thank the viewers. They have been more than fans, they've been like family to me. They've supported my character in some very difficult times."

Hospital drama Days of Our Lives won the best drama series honours for just the second time in 40 years.

The NBC soap opera that began in 1965 beat out defending champion General Hospital and former three-time winner The Bold and the Beautiful, among others.

Days' only other drama series win was in 1978.