Alan Carr wins Special Recognition at National Television Awards as Celebrity Traitors dominates

Alan Carr walked into the 31st National Television Awards on Tuesday night expecting nothing. He'd joked on the red carpet that comedy was too subjective to predict, that Mrs Brown's Boys won every year anyway, so why bother hoping. He was half-right. Mrs Brown's Boys did take the Comedy prize. But the night had other plans for him.

Before Carr even reached the stage, the London audience had been treated to a Traitors-themed musical performance staged in his honour. Paloma Faith, his co-star from The Celebrity Traitors, emerged from a coffin as part of the spectacle. Then came the announcement: Carr had won the Special Recognition award—the only category at the ceremony not decided by public vote. He wept as he accepted it, staying true to a prediction he'd made earlier that evening: if he won anything, there would be "ugly crying."

The award capped what Carr described as a transformative year. He told BBC News that The Celebrity Traitors had brought him a level of attention he'd never experienced before. "I've never had popularity like it," he said, calling the show a "phenomenon." That popularity translated into wins across the night. The Celebrity Traitors beat the original version of the show to claim the Reality Competition prize, with the finale drawing 15 million viewers within seven days. Charlotte Church, another cast member, praised the final episode as a "beautiful vignette of male tenderness and emotional expression," singling out Carr, Nick Mohammed, and David Olusoga for their performances.

The night belonged to more than just Carr. Sir David Attenborough, now 100 years old, was named Best Presenter, breaking a 23-year winning streak held by Ant and Dec. Attenborough was not in attendance, but his long-time collaborator Mark Brownlow accepted on his behalf and read a message from the broadcaster. "Humanity has always needed the natural world for all the practicalities of life and for our mental wellbeing," Attenborough had written. "Now the natural world needs us too: surely we must not ignore that simple fact."

Clarkson's Farm secured its second consecutive NTA, winning the inaugural Celebrity-Led Reality Docuseries category. The award recognised a growing category of television in which well-known figures shape the narrative of their own lives on screen. In the Authored Documentary category, the public chose Our Girls: The Southport Families, a BBC programme following the families of three children—Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven—who were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in 2024. Accepting the award, Elsie's mother Jenni Stancombe told the audience: "We never expected to be stood up here, so I don't know what to say. We know you didn't vote for us, you voted for our three girls."

In the drama categories, Vicky McClure won Best Drama Performance for her role in the crime thriller Trigger Point. It was a significant moment: McClure's win came from the first all-female shortlist in the category's history. Speaking in the winners' room, she reflected on the shift. "Over the years it has not been our space, and here we are dominating that category," she said. "I feel honoured to be amongst those wonderful women." Sheridan Smith, nominated for her portrayal of campaigner Ann Ming in the ITV true crime drama I Fought The Law, did not take the individual prize, but her show won New Drama.

On the red carpet, Graham Norton revealed that his outfit had already had a notable outing earlier in the year. The suit he wore to the National Television Awards was the same one he'd worn to Taylor Swift's wedding. Norton said guests had agreed not to discuss details of the celebrations, but he described working with Swift on her music video for Opalite as an education in leadership. "It was such a happy set," he said. "Everyone was working as hard as they could for her."