Stars arrive for the 2018 New Zealand Television Awards

The biggest stars of New Zealand's small screen industry will gather at Auckland's Civic Theatre tonight for the Huawei Mate20 New Zealand Television Awards.

Toni Street, Rebecca Gibney, Judy Bailey and Clarke Gayford are just some of the stars set to present tonight's awards, which will see actors and journalists rub shoulders on the red carpet, as the awards honour the best in all genres of television.

Hosted by Oliver Driver, this year's ceremony comes after the successful return of the event last year, following a five-year absence.

Last year, TVNZ controversially chose not to enter its news and current affairs programmes and presenters in the awards but appeared to have a change of heart this year, with several finalists in the mix.

Sunday Theatre drama The Dance Exponents - Why Does Love? is the frontrunner ahead of tonight's ceremony with 11 nominations, including Best Feature Drama.

Season two of Australian TV series Wanted, which was shot in Dunedin and Central Otago, follows with eight nominations, while Westside and The New Legends of Monkey are each up for five awards.