Highlights from the 2019 National Television Awards

Last month saw the return of the much-loved National Television Awards where the very best stars from the small screen get to celebrate their success over the past year. The glittering awards ceremony was hosted by Dermot O’Leary who oversaw the proceedings for the tenth year running, and it saw TV stars like Ant and Dec, Jodie Whittaker and Cillian Murphy up for a trophy.

Whilst many awards ceremonies can be fairly boring affairs, the National Television Awards are a little different. This is because you don’t just get the chance to see characters like Danny Dyer going up for a gong, but it’s an awards ceremony where the results are entirely voted by the general public.

This year the National Television Awards once more took place at the O2 Arena in London, and there was a typically lavish parade of TV stars and celebrities who walked down the red carpet in front of the paparazzi.

Red carpet highlights included a very glamorous Holly Willoughby, a lovestruck Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer from Love Island, and an array of stars aiming to dazzle the cameras despite the rainy winter’s night. So who came out as winners in the biggest night of television? Here’s a quick rundown of who picked up some trophies from the 2019 National Television Awards.

Ant and Dec’s night of success

Perhaps the biggest story of the night was the fact that Ant and Dec managed to overcome a difficult year to get the Best TV Presenter award. Despite facing tough competition from Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, Graham Norton and Bradley Walsh, the Geordie pair picked up the honours and gave a very emotional speech. It was a poignant moment for Ant who had a horrendous 2018 after being banned from driving for 20 months for his drink-driving offense.

But the success didn’t stop there as Ant and Dec also managed to win The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award. This is the newly renamed award for the Best Entertainment Show, and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway managed to fight off I’m A Celebrity, The Graham Norton Show, Love Island and All Round To Mrs Brown’s to pick up the honours.

Emmerdale wins the soap opera honours

It was also a massive night for the Emmerdale. The ITV soap picked up the gong for Best Serial Drama and managed to see off very competitive challenges from rival shows like EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.

What made the success all the more sweet was the fact that Emmerdale’s James Moore also managed to win Best Newcomer, although his co-stars Emma Atkins and Lucy Pargeter couldn’t quite pip EastEnders’ Danny Dyer for the Best Serial Drama Performance gong.

Bodyguard’s big year

We loved the new BBC drama, Bodyguard, and it was great to see the show win big at the 2019 National Television Awards. The gripping crime show broke viewing figures and picked up the Best New Drama award ahead of tough competition from Killing Eve, A Discovery of Witches, Girlfriends and The Cry.

In addition to this, it was great to see the show’s star, Richard Madden get the award for Best Drama Performance for his portrayal the ex-army veteran, David Budd, who has to protect the Home Secretary. This was a very close result as Madden was up against strong challenges from Jodie Whittaker in Doctor Who, Michelle Keegan in Our Girl, and Jodie Comer in Killing Eve.

Continuing success for Peaky Blinders

It looks like there’s no slowing down for the rampant success of Peaky Blinders. This gangster epic has become a phenomenon in the UK, and there was further triumphs for Peaky Blinders at this year’s National Television Awards. The crime show deservedly got the award for Best Drama ahead of Our Girl, Call The Midwife, Casualty and Doctor Who, and with no less than three further series planned, it looks like there is plenty of room for more gongs in the future.

The show’s star, Cillian Murphy, was very unlucky to not have won the award for Best Drama Performance. But despite this, it was another night that proves that Peaky Blinders is one of the best TV shows in years.

Strictly Come Dancing proves its worth

The award for Best Talent Show always serves up plenty of competition, and this year we saw Strictly Come Dancing walk off with the honours. Whilst the likes of X Factor, The Voice, Britain’s Got Talent and Dancing on Ice took some beating, there was little stopping the runaway success of this much-loved BBC dancing show.

David Walliams awarded for Best Judge

When he isn’t busy writing children’s books and being a TV funnyman, David Walliams has also been one of our most entertaining judges on the small screen. So it was great to see Walliams getting the credit he deserves for his judging performance on the ITV show, Britain’s Got Talent.

The Chase wins Best Quiz Show

For those who like to test their grey matter, the Best Quiz Show prize put up plenty of notable nominees. But at the end of the day, it was The Chase that pipped the likes of Pointless, A League Of Their Own, Catchphrase, and 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown to the honours.

Paul O’Grady’s For The Love Of Dogs gets Best Factual Show prize

For The Love Of Dogs was one of the year’s most heart-warming TV shows, and Paul O’Grady deservedly picked up the Best Factual Show award for the programme dedicated to our furry friends. Whilst DIY SOS: The Big Build, Ambulance, The Great British Bake Off and Gogglebox were unlucky not to win, For The Love Of Dogs once again proved that we truly are a nation of animal lovers.

Peter Kay’s Car Share get the Best Comedy gong

And finally, you can’t have an award for comedy without Peter Kay being involved. Thankfully his hilarious Car Share show got the Best Comedy award despite strong appearances from Benidorm, The Big Bang Theory, Mrs Brown’s Boys and Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father.