Alan Carr broke down in tears as he received the Special Recognition gong at the National Television Awards on Tuesday.
The comedian was given the prestigious honor for his 20-year TV career, with even the star himself joking that he should have known there would be a surprise after being given a front row seat at the ceremony.
Alan learned he would receive the honor thanks to an appearance by his good friend Amanda Holden and his Celebrity Traitors co-star Paloma Faith.
The performance was a huge hit with viewers, who praised it as ‘one of the grittiest things they had ever seen’.
During his speech, Alan said: ‘This is how fat I am, it wasn’t until Paloma came out that I realized it was me.
“I should have realized that when they put me in the front row, I usually sit in the back with the Naked Attraction people.”
Alan Carr broke down in tears as he received the Special Recognition gong at the National Television Awards on Tuesday
During the ceremony, Alan was honored with a special performance by friends Amanda Holden and his Celebrity Traitors co-star Paloma Faith, who was brought on stage in a coffin.
Alan and the audience were treated to a dramatic rendition of I Know Him So Well from Amanda and Paloma’s musical Chess, which was brought on stage in a coffin as a nod to their Traitors experience.
Fans shared their hysterical reaction to the song, posting on X: ‘The surprise reveal of Alan Carr’s Special Recognition Award is the CAMPEST THING I’ve ever seen. Paloma Faith rising from the coffin? Exceptional’;
‘When Paloma rose from the coffin; This is so iconic OMG’; and ‘Paloma Faith singing in a coffin in honor of Alan Carr is the greatest NTA moment ever.’
The NTAs saw the best of British television descend on London’s O2 Arena for a star-studded ceremony as comedian Joel Dommett returned as host for the sixth time.
In his 100th year, David Attenborough took home the NTA for Best Presenter, leaving Ant and Dec without a gong for the second year in a row.
The iconic Geordie duo held the accolade for 23 years before losing out to Gary Lineker at last year’s awards.
And this year they were surpassed by the legendary broadcaster, whose producer Mark Brownlow accepted the award on his behalf with his speech focused on the dangers of climate change.
The comedian was given the prestigious honor for his two-decade TV career, with even the star himself joking that he knew there would be a surprise after sitting in the front row
The performance was a storm of viewers, who took to X to praise it as ‘one of the campest things they’d ever seen’
Meanwhile, This Morning’s winning streak continued as Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard took home the award for best daytime show, along with Friday presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Ahead of this year’s renewal, Strictly Come Dancing also took home the gong for Best Talent Show, while the Celebrity Traitors won the Reality Competition category.
As Alan Carr accepted his second award of the evening, having received this year’s special recognition earlier in the programme, he joked: ‘I bet you’re tired of me.’
The BBC hit, presented by Claudia Winkleman, dominated the nominees, while the regular civilian series was also nominated.
Fellow contestant Charlotte Church hopped on the mic to praise Alan and Faithfuls Nick Mohammed and David Olusoga for a moment of “masculine tenderness and emotion.”
National Television Awards 2026 winners: Ant and Dec miss out on best presenter award AGAIN as Sir David Attenborough triumphs in his 100th year, while This Morning, Strictly and Clarkson’s Farm get the scoop
The legendary broadcaster, whose producer Mark Brownlow accepted the award on his behalf, focused his speech on the dangers of climate change
Alan Carr received this year’s special recognition after a hilarious introductory sketch in which Paloma Faith was carried in a coffin and Amanda Holden sang
Elsewhere to collect the Reality Docuseries gong was Jeremy Clarkson’s Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm.
The presenter made the shocking revelation earlier this year that he was in remission from prostate cancer.
He kept his speech short and sweet and later broke his silence on the disease during the winner’s press conference.
The 66-year-old said: ‘I wasn’t emotional; it was annoying. I had something going on with my heart, and I had a little bit of cancer, but it wasn’t really gone, it lasted two weeks.
“It was, it was just annoying because I missed a lot of harvest time.”
Lee Mack once again took home the gong for his ITV hit The 1% Club, as he attended the ceremony with his three children and paid tribute to his wife in his speech.
The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award was presented to Michael McIntyre’s Big Show – after it was hosted by Paris Fury and her eight-year-old daughter Valencia.
The cast of Mrs Brown’s Boys were ecstatic to hear they had won Best Comedy Show, which will be a boost for Brendan O’Carroll after he had to cancel this year’s festive specials after breaking his jaw.
Gogglebox, now in its 28th series, was awarded the Factual Entertainment gong, beating Stacey Solomon’s Sort Your Life Out.
This year’s NTAs have proven to be historic, even before the first winners were announced, as they feature the first ever all-female Drama Performance shortlist.
And it was Vicky McClure who came out on top, thanks to her role as fugitive bomb officer Lana in Trigger Point.
I Fought the Law, led by Sheridan Smith, won this year’s New Drama gong after an impressive performance.
This year’s Authored Documentary gong was awarded to the BBC special Our Girls: The Southport Families.
The wins for the evening came from Call The Midwife who won Best Recurring Drama, Emmerdale who won Best Serial Drama and Jeff Hordley who won in the Serial Drama Performance category.
