Kiwi actress wins a Logie

Ex-Shorty St star's talents rewarded in Aussie

GOLDEN WINNER: Chelsie Preston Crayford as Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor.

A former Shortland Street actress has had her small screen talents recognised across the Tasman with a win in Australia's prestigious Logie Television Awards.

Chelsie Preston Crayford, who stared as Missy on the Kiwi soap in 2003 and played Hannah in The Cult in 2009, took out the award for most outstanding new talent at last night's ceremony.

Her award was presented by popular Australian comedian and TV host Rove McManus.

She was recognised for her role as Tilly Devine in Underbelly: Razor, a drama which followed some of Sydney's most terrifying criminals of the 1920s and 1930s.

Devine, a cockney, aspired to the upper classes despite her penchant for violent crime.

Crayford, whose mother is well-known Wellington director Gaylene Preston, is currently based in Sydney. She played her own grandmother in Home by Christmas, which was inspired by an audio interview with her grand-father Ed.

She also starred in quirky Kiwi comedy Eagle v Shark.

The short film Fog scored Crayford a Best Actress in a Short Film gong at the NZ Film Awards.

- © Fairfax NZ News