Entertainment

Alan Carr Moved to Tears at National Television Awards Amid Traitors Success

By Today News Hours Editorial Desk

Comedian Alan Carr became emotional at the 31st National Television Awards on Tuesday after receiving the Special Recognition prize, capping off a standout year for the star. The London audience had just watched a Traitors-themed musical tribute in his honour, featuring fellow cast member Paloma Faith emerging from a coffin, when the surprise award was announced. Before the ceremony, Carr had downplayed his chances of winning for his semi-autobiographical comedy Changing Ends, joking on the red carpet, "Comedy is so subjective... Mrs Brown's Boys wins every year, why am I even here?" He was proven correct, as Mrs Brown's Boys did go on to win the Comedy category. Carr had earlier predicted there would be "ugly crying" if he won an award, and he stayed true to his word when accepting the Special Recognition honour, the only category not decided by public vote. He told the BBC that his time on The Celebrity Traitors had brought him unprecedented attention, calling the show a "phenomenon" and saying, "I've never had popularity like it." Carr had further reason to celebrate as The Celebrity Traitors beat the original Traitors format to win the Reality Competition award. Co-star Charlotte Church praised the show's finale, which drew 15 million viewers within a week, calling it "a beautiful vignette of male tenderness and emotional expression" and singling out Carr, Nick Mohammed and David Olusoga as "absolutely sublime." Elsewhere, Sir David Attenborough was named Best Presenter in his 100th birthday year, ending Ant and Dec's bid to reclaim the title after their 23-year winning streak was broken last year by Gary Lineker. Attenborough was not present, but his longtime collaborator Mark Brownlow accepted on his behalf and read a message from the broadcaster urging continued environmental protection: "Humanity has always needed the natural world for all the practicalities of life and for our mental wellbeing. Now the natural world needs us too: surely we must not ignore that simple fact." Clarkson's Farm claimed the newly introduced Celebrity-Led Reality Docuseries award for the second year running, beating out entries from Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash, Tyson Fury, Kelvin Fletcher, and Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse. In the Authored Documentary category, which included films from Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, and Sharon Osbourne's documentary about her late husband Ozzy, the public chose Our Girls: The Southport Families. The BBC programme told the story of the families of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in 2024. Accepting the award, Elsie's mother Jenni Stancombe said, "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." Kelly Osbourne, speaking ahead of the ceremony, said her family was "honoured" by the nomination for the documentary about her father, calling it "a tragic but beautiful story," and noted she had spoken with her mother Sharon shortly before arriving. In the drama categories, Vicky McClure won Best Drama Performance for her role in Trigger Point, marking the first all-female shortlist in the award's history. She said, "Over the years it has not been our space, and here we are dominating that category. I feel honoured to be amongst those wonderful women." Fellow nominee Sheridan Smith, recognised for playing campaigner Ann Ming in ITV's I Fought The Law, did not win the individual award, but the series took home the New Drama prize. Meanwhile, nominee Graham Norton revealed that his red carpet outfit had already made an appearance at another high-profile event this year — Taylor Swift's wedding. "This is what I wore to Taylor Swift's wedding," he told the BBC, adding that guests had agreed not to disclose details of the occasion. Norton, who also appeared in Swift's music video for Opalite, said working with the singer demonstrated "what leadership is like at that level," describing the set as "such a happy" environment where "everyone was working as hard as they could for her."