Here's why Prue Leith had such a sore loser face at the National Television Awards

If you wondered why Prue Leith didn’t have a better gracious loser face at the National Television Awards, it’s because she didn’t realise the results had been announced.

The Great British Bake Off judge attended the NTAs with show winner Rahul Mandal where the baking contest had been shortlisted for the factual entertainment programme prize.

But Bake Off lost out to Paul O’Grady: For The Love of Dogs and as the result was announced, viewers of the ITV awards ceremony may have been surprised to see that Leith didn’t even attempt a smile for her rival’s win.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning, Leith revealed the truth behind her stony-faced reaction – she hadn’t known that the winner had been called.

Host Piers Morgan, whose show didn’t win an NTA either, said: “I want to compare loser faces – mine was a full on grimace, I was in disgust about what had happened.

“Yours was slightly more refined, but no less unenthusiastic.”

Leith replied: “Do you know the appalling thing is that I was so bemused by what was going on because it was such an extraordinary event, that I hadn’t actually cottoned on to the fact that they had already judged it.

“So I was just looking around, and then I thought, ‘Oh, there’s a guy…oh, it’s the dog chap, he won it.’

“That’s why my loser face was a sort of absent old lady, I wasn’t there.”

It was the third win at the NTAs for the dog chap, aka Paul O’Grady, for his programme in the factual entertainment category.

Leith admitted: “Awards do mean a lot, even a tiny little award makes a big difference, especially to the team, so I do care about awards.”

The kitchen queen didn’t hold back with her gripes about the NTAs red carpet during her interview.

She complained: “But I did think the whole ceremony went on too long. I don’t know what you think about the whole red carpet, it might sound incredibly glamorous, but it was snowing and we were wearing these flimsy things, and our shoulders were freezing.

“Normally I absolutely love it because I’m such an egotist, that I just love it when people want to talk to me, but I had Rahul with me so he was the main attraction, people love him.”

Read more
Piers Morgan mocked for losing at NTAs
See the NTA red carpet fashion moments
Ant dedicates NTA to best bud Dec