Ant and Dec thank 'the Toon' at the National Television Awards
Ant and Dec have thanked 'the Toon' as they were named 'Best TV Presenter' at the National Television Awards.
The Geordie duo made history, claiming the title for a 23rd year running. In their acceptance speech they made sure to thank their hometown and declared their love for the Head Coach of their beloved Newcastle United.
Picking up the gong on stage, McPartlin said: "We know we're not going to win it one year, but it's not tonight...thank goodness"
Donnelly then thanked their family back home in Newcastle. He said: "Thank you. It’s really hard to put into words just how this feels and what it means to us that you take the time to vote for us.
”Thank you also to our families up in the North East for voting as well and being there for us."
McPartlin interrupted to add a special thanks to the Head Coach of their local football team Newcastle United. He said: "Thanks to Eddie Howe, love you."
The presenting pair saw off tough competition from This Morning’s Alison Hammond, Strictly Come Dancing and The Traitors star Claudia Winkleman, The Chase and Gladiators host Bradley Walsh and TV star Stacey Solomon to extend their winning streak.
Earlier, Ant and Dec kicked off their successful night by picking up the Bruce Forsyth entertainment award for the reality series I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, which they host.
Elsewhere, Kate Garraway completed a hat-trick in the best authored documentary category, dedicating the award to her late husband Derek Draper. She won the gong for Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, which followed the final year of Draper’s life before he died in January aged 56 after a lengthy battle with the long-term effects of Covid.
It follows on from two other programmes about his battle with Covid and her struggles navigating the care system, which both picked up NTA gongs in the category in 2021 and 2022.A shocked Garraway said she “genuinely did not expect” to win this time but described the moment as “bittersweet” as she collected the gong.
As she brought her daughter and son forward to stand beside her on stage, she reflected on how they are half-way through the first year of “firsts” without Draper, saying: “It’s so strange to be here – this one’s for you Derek, absolutely.”
Earlier in the night, Toby Jones secured the best drama performance gong for his role in Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the ITV drama which helped renew attention on the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted during the Horizon IT scandal.
Jones portrayed former subpostmaster Sir Alan Bates, one of more than 550 claimants who have brought legal action against the Post Office.
Collecting his gong, the actor said: “This means an awful lot, not just to me but to the extraordinary people who inspired our show.”
The four-part miniseries, which shone a light on the issue, is also nominated for the new drama prize alongside Netflix hit Baby Reindeer, romantic drama One Day and thrillers Fool Me Once and Red Eye.
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