Reality hosts to front Emmys show

This year's Emmy Awards will be presented by the five contenders for its new best reality TV show host prize, organisers have announced.

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest will join Dancing With The Stars' Tom Bergeron and Survivor's Jeff Probst in fronting US TV's biggest awards show.

Model and Project Runway presenter Heidi Klum and US Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel complete the line-up.

The awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on 21 September.

"It just seemed like a perfect way to stay current with the state of television today," executive producer Ken Ehrlich said, calling the five presenters "extremely engaging personalities" that should be able to add spontaneity to the ceremony.

'Fresh idea'

"They were excited by this. They got it, what a fresh idea this was and how this could be fun for them," he added.

Last year's Emmys - hosted by Seacrest - recorded the second-lowest number of viewers in its history, with 13 million tuning in.

Mr Ehrlich hopes the "tremendous number" of fans of the five shows - which together attract 70 million viewers - will give the ceremony a boost.

Historical drama John Adams - which follows the life of one of America's founding fathers - tops the shortlist with 23 nominations.

30 Rock, which took best comedy at last year's awards, leads the comedy nominees with 17 nods, while Mad Men, the acclaimed drama set in the world of advertising in the 1960s, has picked up 16 nominations.

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