Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have won the TV presenter prize at the National Television Awards for a historic 23rd year in a row.
The TV duo 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.
Collecting the gong during the annual awards ceremony at The O2 in London on Wednesday evening, Donnelly 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.”
McPartlin described the gong as a “joy” and joked that one day they will not collect it, but tonight was not the night.
They also thanked their teams and families before reflecting on how their lives have changed over the years, especially since becoming fathers.
Donnelly also revealed that his daughter gave him her lip balm for good luck, thanking her for it as he showed it to the audience.
Earlier, the duo 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.”
The Good Morning Britain star also praised her team who helped create the documentary series and carers across the country as she called for a system which better supports them, adding: “We need a system which catches us when we fall, not catches us out… I’m going to keep the fight on for all of you.”
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.
Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The Impact, 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
Find out what happened next to the sub-postmasters, in their ongoing struggle for justice.#ITV #MrBatesVsThePostOffice @ITVX pic.twitter.com/kshGCZnsEX
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Collecting his gong, the actor said: “This means an awful lot, not just to me but to the extraordinary people who inspired our show.”
He also used the opportunity to congratulate the real Sir Alan on his recent marriage to his partner Suzanne Sercombe and hailed the drama as an “extraordinary project” to work on.
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.
Stacey Solomon picked up the first prize of the night for her reality show Sort Your Life Out, thanking the families who opened up their homes and hearts to her for the show.
Coronation Street actor Peter Ash collected the serial drama performance prize, saying it is an “amazing way” to end his time on the soap opera.
The storyline for his character Paul Foreman saw him deteriorate as he battled with motor neurone disease (MND), with the character recently dying.
Collecting the prize, he said: “This is honestly incredible – what an amazing way to end my six years on Coronation Street.”
He also thanked the Corrie team and the charities which supported him, paying special tribute to Daniel Brocklebank, who played his on-screen husband Billy Mayhew, saying he “couldn’t have wished for anyone better to have done this storyline with”.
The Traitors also landed the reality competition gong, seeing off tough competition from Celebrity Big Brother, Love Island, Race Across The World and The Apprentice.
The National Television Awards continue on ITV.
