Yahoo News Ant & Dec win Best TV Presenter at the NTAs 2019
The reunited Ant & Dec could barely fight back tears as they won at the National Television Awards for a historic 18th time.
The pair were voted as winners of the TV Presenter award during Tuesday night's (January 22) ceremony, in spite of the fact that Ant McPartlin took a hiatus from TV for a vast majority of 2018 following his drink-driving car crash and a stint in rehab.
Ant and Dec were shown live via satellite at the Britain's Got Talent auditions clearly struggling with their emotions as they hugged on stage.
As voted for by you, @AntAndDec have won the Best Presenter Award! And this one clearly means a lot.@OfficialNTAs #NTAs pic.twitter.com/yIJXThLMMm
- ITV (@ITV) January 22, 2019
"Thank you. This is a genuine shock, especially this year," Ant admitted. "I'm shaking! Obviously, thank you to everybody. I really don't feel like I can accept this award, this year.
"There's one reason we won this award this year, and that's this guy [Dec], his hard work, dedication, wit and being the best mate there is out there."
"Thank you to everybody who sent kind and thoughtful messages to us over the past year while I've been flying the flag for the two of us," Dec added. "I've got him back now, and now we're back together… This year probably more than ever, thank you to all the people who picked up the phone and voted for us."
Thank you doesn’t seem to cover it this year. We are humbled and honoured. We are so appreciative of your continued support and good wishes, they are never taken for granted. Thank u again. Now back to #BGT auditions! D x #NTAs pic.twitter.com/rCzle3FmuM
- antanddec (@antanddec) January 22, 2019
Dec also tweeted thanks after their speech had aired, saying: "Thank you doesn’t seem to cover it this year. We are humbled and honoured.
"We are so appreciative of your continued support and good wishes, they are never taken for granted. Thank u again. Now back to #BGT auditions! D x"
Over the weekend, McPartlin revealed that he and Donnelly would not be attending the NTAs because of they were busy filming BGT- but still campaigned to win the award.
"If we do win – and I hope people still vote – then Dec deserves it," Ant told The Sun. "He's worked his socks off this year.
"It's an accolade to how hard he's worked in tough circumstances. How good a friend he's been to me. How much of a professional he is. If we do win, then Dec will have to take most of it and I'll take a tiny bit for my few shows last year."
The decision by the NTAs to even nominate McPartlin wasn't necessarily a popular one. Good Morning Britain co-host Piers Morgan complained that McPartlin had been nominated for "sitting on his backside for the entire year", while NTAs host Dermot O'Leary argued that an Ant & Dec win could invalidate the award.
"If Ant and Dec win it this year, we should just not do it anymore," X Factor host Dermot complained to the Daily Star. "If they win it, we may as well just chuck in the towel."
Dec poked fun at those comments while accepting his NTA on Tuesday, quipping: "Special mention to Dermot who said he was going to chuck in the towel in we won this year, so happy retirement, Dermot. Olly and Caroline, you're back on The X [Factor]."
Dermot O'Leary presented the 23rd National Television Awards from The O2 in London on ITV on Wednesday night.
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