LOS ANGELES — "Guiding Light" and Tyra Banks picked up the first two trophies Friday night at the Daytime Emmys.

Gina Tognoni, who plays Dinah Marler on CBS' "Guiding Light," won the award for outstanding supporting actress at the beginning of ABC's live broadcast of 35th annual awards show. Tognoni beat out actresses from "As the World Turns," "The Bold and the Beautiful," "The Young and the Restless" and "Days of Our Lives."

Banks picked up the second award of the evening: the first ever Daytime Emmy for informative talk show. Banks, "Dr. Phil" and PBS' "A Place of Our Own/Los Ninos en su Casa" — a daily show about child care that has English and Spanish versions — didn't have to spar with Regis Philbin or Ellen DeGeneres for outstanding talk show this year thanks to a category split.

"I want to thank Oprah Winfrey for her inspiration," Banks said. "She is the queen. She will always be the queen."

What about Winfrey? After several sweeps, she's been taking herself and her show out of Daytime Emmy contention since 1999.

ABC is shaking up this year's ceremony with new categories, new interactive elements and a new Golden Globes-style seating arrangement at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. Honoring everything from soaps to talk shows to game shows, the live broadcast is being co-hosted by Sherri Shepherd from "The View" and Cameron Mathison from "All My Children."

Instead of sitting in the Kodak's stuffy theater seats, nominees gathered around their own banquet tables and were allowed to sip booze from an open bar. Digital video cameras were placed at the tables and attendees documented personal experiences during the show. The footage was being uploaded to SoapNet.com throughout the live ceremony.

"Viewers will be able to get inside the show in a way that hasn't happened before," Brian Frons, president of daytime TV for the Disney-ABC Television Group, told The Associated Press before the ceremony.

After plummeting to an all-time low of 6.1 million viewers in 2006, last year's Emmy Awards were watched by 8.3 million people, the ceremony's best ratings since 2004, according to Nielsen Media Research. That scaled-down, two-hour Daytime Emmys aired on CBS after a rebroadcast of Bob Barker's final "Price Is Right" episode and featured the game show host receiving his 19th Daytime Emmy.

This year, DeGeneres is competing for yet another talk show host trophy — she's won three straight times — against the ladies from "The View" — they've lost 10 straight times — as well as Philbin and Kelly Ripa from "Live with Regis and Kelly."

Philbin is guaranteed to take home at least one trophy. The 76-year-old talk show host, who's career can be traced back to his days as an NBC page in the 1950s, will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Jimmy Kimmel. Philbin has only won the talk show host category once in the 20 years he's hosted "Live." Current co-host Ripa has never won the category.

Also new this year is the legal/courtroom program Daytime Emmy. Of the nine syndicated arbitrators currently airing on TV, "Judge Judy," "Judge Hatchett Show," "Cristina's Court," "The People's Court" and "Judge David Young" are duking it for the first legal Emmy. Formerly, veteran "Judge Judy" competed in a special class category against shows like "Trading Spaces" and "A Baby's Story."

"People say it's nice to be invited to the dance, but I say it's even better to be the prom queen," Young told the AP before the show. "I think everyone who's nominated is incredibly talented and dedicated to the world of law and the justice system, but I think my approach is different from any other judge out there, so I think I've got a really great chance of winning."

CBS' "The Young and the Restless" led the soap categories with 17 nominations. It was competing against ABC's "General Hospital," CBS' "Guiding Light" and ABC's "One Life to Live" for outstanding drama series. CBS netted the most nominations this year with 56 nods overall. In a surprising upset, each of the five lead actress nominees all hail from only CBS soaps.

Competition was put aside Thursday during SoapNet's "Night Before Party" at Hollywood nightclub Crimson & Opera. Soap stars and company sipped special cocktails, played "Wii Fit" and received hand massages during the celebration. Shepherd and "All My Children" diva Susan Lucci, who famously won her first Daytime Emmy in 1999 after 19 nominations, held court in a corner booth.