British actress Archie Panjabi triumphed at the Emmys on a night when many bigger names walked away empty handed.

The Londoner – who'll be familiar to viewers from Bend It Like Beckham and East Is East – won the best supporting actress gong for her role as a feisty investigator in The Good Wife.

In a surprise result, she beat off competition from her co-star on the legal drama, Christine Baranski.

Archie, 38, also edged out Christina Hendricks of Mad Men - the series about Sixties ad men which took the title for best drama.

The delighted Brit said working on The Good Wife had been a "dream come true”.

She also thanked Angelina Jolie, with whom she worked on 2007 film A Mighty Heart, for giving her inspiration.

Other British nominees – among them, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Maggie Smith and Michael Sheen – lost out.