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US actress Mariska Hargitay, star of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, will host this year’s Primetime Emmys ceremony.

Her hugely successful crime series, known as SVU, has been running since 1999, and continues to be popular with younger audiences who have discovered it on streaming services.

Hargitay has been Emmy nominated eight times herself for playing detective Olivia Benson, winning for lead actress in a drama series in 2006.

SVU is one of the longest-running TV dramas of all time and is set to reach its 600th episode when its 28th season airs this autumn.

And at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys, Hargitay also won two prizes for her documentary My Mom Jayne, about her actress mother Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car accident when Hargitay was three.

“Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career,” Hargitay said in a statement.

“It’s my great honour to host the 78th Emmy Awards and celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers.

“Whether it’s an actor or a director, a costumer or a sound designer, we are all so privileged to take part in creating television that unites us.”