Not just a TV mom, but a friend

As actress Christina Applegate’s television mom on “Samantha Who?,” Jean Smart said backstage that she feels “very protective” of her colleague, especially since Applegate told her she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Smart, holding her Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy, said, “I was shocked when she told me. I started to cry a little bit. I started to tear up and said, ‘This is not because I think anything’s going to happen to you.’ I just hated that she has to go through this,” Smart said in the media tent.

“She’s very spiritual, very strong. She’ll make it.”

-- Lynn Smith and Chris Lee