Night of the TV stars

I will admit to a small squeal when Friday Night Lights dream-boy—mine anyway—Taylor Kitsch brushed past me in the busy cocktail crowd, sporting his linebacker character Tim Riggins’ signature shoulder-length ‘do. If only he’d been wearing his Dillon Panthers jersey. Degrassi-turned-90210 starlet Shenae Grimes breezed through, huddled in her hoodie, but turned it up on stage as a presenter in thigh-high black leather stiletto boots and a kimono-esque minidress. Sophie’s Natalie Brown was best-dressed by our standards, in a deep-purple sculpted corset gown by Andy Thé-Anh. Many of the middling starlets seemed to have raided Greta Constantine’s loaner racks — draped jersey gowns with braided shoulder detail abounded. Hollywood export Natasha Henstridge showed off an impressively Amazonian figure and an alarming Conehead-esque hairdo, while “Hottest Female TV Star” Leah Miller, host of our current office obsession, So You Think You Can Dance Canada, rocked a cute coral mini and nude platforms. The Hour host George Stroumboulopoulos picked up a trophy in his usual casual-cool leather jacket and skinny black jeans, while host Jason Priestley made a style statement in a very shiny black suit, and delivered his teleprompter lines with easy charm. We skipped the gala dinner for the Academy’s hospitality suite, so much more fun, don’t you think?

Shown: Leah Miller accepts her Viewers’ Choice award for the Hottest Canadian Female Star at Friday’s Gemini Awards. Photo courtesy of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television