ABC's General Hospital was named Outstanding Drama Series for a record ninth time, a win that solidified the show as the most honored program in this category. Next in line behind GH is CBS's The Young and the Restless, with six wins.
"As I was saying," Phelps said with tongue firmly in cheek, a clever nod to last year's ceremony when her acceptance speech was cut off after only a few seconds because the show was running out of time.
"Now that I have a [full] minute to speak, I can't think of a single thing to say," Phelps said in amazement.
When the words finally came to her, Phelps praised everyone involved in making this year's Daytime Emmy one of the most glamorous ceremonies ever.
"Thank you for this extraordinary evening," Phelps continued. "Thank you [ABC Daytime president] Brian Frons. Not only is it wonderful to be in daytime television, but to have an evening like this that celebrates us in this way, that makes us not feel like the stepchildren is pretty great."
"We produce one hour of dramatic television every day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year and a lot of people..." Phelps began before being stopped.
The win by General Hospital came as a surprise -- even to Phelps who praised The Young and the Restless' work.
"I was thrilled when I heard GH's name," Phelps remarked backstage. "I was also a little surprised. [The Young and the Restless] had a superb reel. I think we had two extraordinary shows."
Like last year, General Hospital submitted two scenes from a Sweeps stunt storyline that involved special effects and tragedy. Last year, there was a hotel fire. This year, the show submitted episodes involved in a train wreck.
While Phelps did not discuss the budget crunch cause by this year's spectacular plot, she did mention last year that the huge overhead of such a storyline can result in penny-pinching the rest of the year.
