Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly won the award for Best Presenter at the National Television Awards tonight.
The telly duo have won the award for Best Presenter at the NTAs since 2001, but there was a lot of controversy surrounding their nomination this year.
Many argued that the gong should go to someone else, including X Factor host Dermot O’Leary.
In a recent interview with the Daily Star, Dermot questioned whether the pair deserved the gong this year, as Ant took a lot of time off work last year – following his drink-driving arrest.
Our favourite Geordie Duo @antanddec win their 18th consecutive National Television Award for TV Entertainment Presenter! ????#NTAs #NTAs2019 pic.twitter.com/JZSWHrgUWV
— National TV Awards (@OfficialNTAs) January 22, 2019
While Ant joined Dec on their hugely popular Saturday Night Takeaway show last year, he missed out on presenting the Britain’s Got Talent’s live semi-finals, and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
The presenter decided to take time off work after he was arrested for drink-driving in March, 2018. After pleading guilty in court, Ant was slapped with an £86,000 fine, and banned from driving for 20 months.
Despite this, the pair were voted as the UK’s Best TV Presenter tonight, and Ant referenced the controversy in their acceptance speech.
In a live feed from the Britain’s Got Talent auditions, Ant got emotional as he said, “Oh wow. Thank you This is a genuine shock, especially this year. I really don’t feel like I can accept the award this year.”
Ant dedicated the award solely to Dec, who went on to thank fans for their support over the past year.
Dec also poked fun at Dermot’s recent comments by saying, “Happy retirement Dermot! Olly and Caroline you’re back on the X.”
Check out the full list of winners at the NTAs below:
Quiz Show
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
A League of Their Own
Catchphrase
Pointless
The Chase – WINNER
New Drama
A Discovery of Witches
Bodyguard – WINNER
Girlfriends
Killing Eve
The Cry
Talent Show
Britain’s Got Talent
Dancing on Ice
Strictly Come Dancing – WINNER
The Voice UK
The X Factor
Drama
Call the Midwife
Casualty
Doctor Who
Our Girl
Peaky Blinders – WINNER
TV Presenter
Ant & Dec – WINNER
Bradley Walsh
Graham Norton
Holly Willoughby
Phillip Schofield
Factual Entertainment
Ambulance
DIY SOS: The Big Build
Gogglebox
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs – WINNER
The Great British Bake Off
Drama Performance
Cillian Murphy, Thomas Shelby, Peaky Blinders
Jodie Comer, Villanelle, Killing Eve
Jodie Whittaker, The Doctor, Doctor Who
Michelle Keegan, L. Cpl Georgie Lane, Our Girl
Richard Madden, Sgt David Budd, Bodyguard – WINNER
The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
All Round to Mrs Brown’s
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – WINNER
Love Island
The Graham Norton Show
Serial Drama
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks
Serial Drama Performance
Bonnie Langford, Carmel Kazemi, EastEnders
Danny Dyer, Mick Carter, EastEnders – WINNER
Emma Atkins, Charity Dingle, Emmerdale
Jack P Shepherd, David Platt, Coronation Street
Lucy Pargeter, Chas Dingle, Emmerdale
Comedy
Benidorm
Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father
Mrs Brown’s Boys
Peter Kay’s Car Share – WINNER
The Big Bang Theory
Newcomer
Aedan Duckworth, Oliver Morgan, Hollyoaks
Alexandra Mardell, Emma Brooker, Coronation Street
James Moore, Ryan Stocks, Emmerdale – WINNER
Neet Mohan, Dr Rashid ‘Rash’ Masum, Casualty
Ricky Champ, Stuart Highway, EastEnders
Daytime
Good Morning Britain
Loose Women
Sunday Brunch
The Jeremy Kyle Show
This Morning – WINNER
TV Judge
David Walliams – WINNER
Louis Tomlinson
Robbie Williams
Robert Rinder
Simon Cowell
