THE North West's finest actors, broadcasters and programme makers gathered in Liverpool for a glittering television awards ceremony this weekend.

The prestigious Royal Television Society England's annual Northwest Awards were presented by Liverpool-born Radio 2 DJ Janice Long in Grand Central Hall on Saturday night.

Sponsored by the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA), the awards celebrate notable industry achievements and quality programming output.

Granada Television swept the board scooping four out of five available gongs for its news and current affairs programmes.

Granada Reports was named best regional news programme for the second year running for its live NHS Special in which Prime Minister Tony Blair was grilled by an audience of health service workers.

The Late Debate was named best regional current affairs programme and So Rahman won the regional presenter award.

Journalists Paul Crone, who recently announced he is going part-time after 18 years with Granada, and the BBC's Gordon Burns each scooped a special judges' award for outstanding contributions to north west television.

But the real stars of the evening were acclaimed actor Christopher Eccleston and 11-year-old Liverpool actor Jack McMullen.

Eccleston scooped best performance in a network drama for his starring role in ITV1's controversial The Second Coming, in which he played the "son of God", a Manchester City football fan charged with helping the human race come up with a third Testament or face Judgement Day.

The drama scooped four awards in total including best network drama programme.

Jack McMullen, young star of the recently-departed Brookside, was accompanied by his mother, Michelle, as he scooped best performance in a soap for his role as Josh McLoughlin.

The soap also won a special judges' award for outstanding innovation in TV drama, collected by actor

Dean Sullivan (Jimmy Corkhill) on behalf of Mersey Television's Phil Redmond.

A spokeswoman for Mersey Television said: "We are very pleased and excited by the award." The newly refurbished Grand Central Hall on Renshaw Street provided a fitting venue for the ceremony, as well as a star-studded aftershow party.

Brookside actors came out in force for a reunion less than a month after the show's last episode was screened.

Ahead of the event, Shahida Ahmed, Royal Television Society vice-chair, said: "We're delighted to be holding this year's event in Liverpool - European Capital of Culture 2008.

"The image many people outside Liverpool have of the city is outdated, and maybe television can play its part in the next stage of the city's triumphant rebirth."