Piers Morgan takes swipe at Ant & Dec after their NTAs win – 12 best reactions

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have won the best TV presenter prize at the National Television Awards for a 20th year in a row.

The presenting duo faced competition from Piers Morgan, who had set his sights on ending their domination at the event.

However, he did not attend and shared a photo on Twitter apparently showing himself watching the ceremony on his TV at home.

Morgan was nominated following a turbulent first half of 2021 which saw him depart Good Morning Britain over incendiary comments about the Duchess of Sussex. He was also up against Bradley Walsh and This Morning stars Holly Willoughby and Alison Hammond.

Following the announcement, Morgan tweeted a rather sarcastic message, which read: “Wow! What a shock! Congrats to Ant & Dec. Thoroughly deserved 20th consecutive win – the way they held those jungle contestants to account during the pandemic was absolutely brilliant.”

He also tweeted a gif of himself storming off the Good Morning Britain set in a throwback to March when co-presenter Alex Beresford challenged Morgan in his comments about Meghan following the bombshell Oprah interview.

In response to the booing when his nomination was read out last night, Morgan tweeted: “Love the boos being drowned out by cheers… Ronaldo gets the same crowd reactions.”

Twitter reacted by poking fun at Morgan, with one Twitter user remarking that the one thing he did win was “the loudest boos” of the night.

But some supported Morgan, with others suggesting it’s time for someone else to win the coveted award.

One fan also felt the need to clarify that their support of Morgan didn’t mean they, er, wanted to “s***” him.

While all of this went down on Twitter, McPartlin and Donnelly graciously accepted their award at the NTA ceremony at London’s O2 Arena last night.

Speaking on stage, McPartlin said: “We were talking in the car on the way here and the first year we won an NTA, Tony Blair was the prime minister and Newcastle United qualified for the Champions League. It just goes to show how long ago it was.

“But do you know what? This one means the most. Twenty years. This is really, really special. You have no idea how special this is.”

Donnelly added: “When you get to 20, you can’t help but stop and look back at the first time we won in 2001, and so much has changed in both our lives since then but one thing that hasn’t changed is how unbelievably grateful we are that you take time year after year to watch both of us.”

When asked about Morgan in the NTA’s winners’ room last night, McPartlin told The Mirror: "We don’t have a lot to say to Piers Morgan."

Donnelly agreed and added: "It’s not about him tonight!"

The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! team also scooped the Bruce Forsyth entertainment award.

Other shows to win awards included It’s A Sin, After Life, and The Great British Bake Off.

The National Television Awards winners in full:

Serial drama - Coronation Street

Talent show - Strictly Come Dancing

Bruce Forsyth entertainment award - I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Challenge show - The Great British Bake Off

Comedy - After Life

Factual - Gogglebox

New drama - It’s A Sin

Returning drama - Line of Duty

Quiz game show - Beat the Chasers

TV presenter - Ant and Dec

Daytime - This Morning

Authored documentary - Kate Garraway: Finding Derek

Newcomer - Jude Riordan (Sam Blakeman, Coronation Street)

Drama performance - David Tennant - Dennis Nilsen, Des

Serial drama performance - Mollie Gallagher (Nina Lucas, Coronation Street)

Additional reporting by PA