Daytime power couple Melody Thomas Scott and Ed Scott and PBS cooking show host Lidia Bastianich are set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 for career honors at the 2024 Daytime Emmy Awards which will air on CBS on June 7.
“We’ve long wanted to honor the legendary daytime duo of Melody Thomas Scott and her husband Edward J. Scott,” NATAS CEO Adam Sharp said. “With a combined 93 years of contributions to our community, they are true institutions in the world of daytime television. In addition, Lidia Bastianich’s astounding success combines her love of cooking while simultaneously entertaining millions each day. It is an honor for us to say grazie for the many fine meals borne from her TV kitchen and cookbook pages.”
“We are honored and humbled to receive this recognition from NATAS,” Ed Scott and Melody Thomas Scott said in a statement. “Throughout our decades-long careers in front of and behind the cameras, we have had the opportunity to work not only with each other, but also with an incredibly talented pool of people who excel in their crafts and are passionate about the art we create in daytime television. We are grateful to have worked side by side with them and to be included with such esteemed recipients who have made their mark in our industry. We look forward to spending another wonderful evening celebrating the Daytime community!”
Melody Thomas Scott has played Nikki Newman on “The Young and The Restless” since 1979. She is a two-time Daytime Emmy nominee. As part of the super couple Victor Newman and Nikki Newman, Scott has become a part of soap opera pop culture. The show recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the couple’s first wedding. The wedding gown Scott wore as Nikki Newman was received by The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to represent “The Young and the Restless.” Her storylines since arriving in “The Young and the Restless” hometown Genoa City has had fans talking for years.
Melody released her memoir, “Always Young and Restless.” Married since 1985 to Edward J. Scott, the couple have three daughters and five grandchildren.
Edward J. Scott is a six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning producer who has played a pivotal role in the historic development of the soap opera genre for nearly five decades. Scott is currently supervising producer for “The Bold and the Beautiful” who began his career on “The Young and the Restless.”
Lidia Bastianich said in a statement: “It is a tremendous honor to be recognized and receive the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for having shared my passion for food with TV audiences for over 25 years. Cooking together and sharing food remain a common denominator of all cultures. Food nurtures, it connects diverse people and it brings families, friends and strangers together. There is no better place to be on this earth, especially in these trying times, than sharing food at a table with others. That simple idea has been the basis of my life’s work. Hence, as I say in my shows, ‘Tutti a Tavola a Mangiare!’ Mille Grazie to NATAS for this honor.”
The 51ST Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will broadcast live Friday, June 7 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.
