Alan Carr holds back tears on special night at National Television Awards

3 hours ago 4

Alan Carr accepts the 'Special Recognition' award on stage during the National Television Awards 2026 show at The O2 Arena.

ByLola Schroer

Culture reporter

You can see a full list of winners at the bottom of this article

Alan Carr had an emotional night at the 31st National Television Awards on Tuesday as he received the Special Recognition prize following a whirlwind year for the comedian.

The London audience had just been treated to a Traitors-themed musical performance in his honour, which included fellow cast member Paloma Faith emerging from a coffin, when he was given the surprise award.

Speaking to BBC News on the red carpet before the ceremony, Carr had played down his chances of winning for his semi-autobiographical comedy Changing Ends.

He joked: "Comedy is so subjective... Mrs Brown's Boys wins every year, why am I even here?"

Carr was right - Mrs Brown's Boys went on to win the Comedy prize. But the night was just beginning.

The Celebrity Traitors favourite had predicted there would be "ugly crying" if he did take home a prize - and he stayed true to his word as he accepted the Special Recognition award, the only category not voted for by the public.

The cast of ‘The Celebrity Traitors’ accept the ‘Reality Competition’ Award onstage during the National Television Awards 2026 show at The O2 Arena

Carr told BBC News that being part of The Celebrity Traitors had brought him a level of attention he had never experienced before.

"I've never had popularity like it," he said, describing the show as a "phenomenon".

Carr had more reason to celebrate when The Celebrity Traitors beat the original version of the show to win the Reality Competition prize.

His co-star, singer Charlotte Church, praised the show's final, which attracted 15 million viewers within seven days, describing it as a "beautiful vignette of male tenderness and emotional expression".

"Alan, Nick (Mohammed) and David (Olusoga), you were just absolutely sublime," she added.

Sir David Attenborough wins an NTA at 100

Another big win went to Sir David Attenborough, who was named Best Presenter in his 100th birthday year, beating popular duo Ant and Dec, whose 23-year winning streak was broken by Gary Lineker last year.

While not in attendance, Attenborough's long-time collaborator Mark Brownlow accepted the award on his behalf and shared a message from the broadcaster urging people to help protect the planet.

"Humanity has always needed the natural world for all the practicalities of life and for our mental wellbeing," Attenborough wrote. "Now the natural world needs us too: surely we must not ignore that simple fact."

Clarkson's Farm wins again

Clarkson's Farm won an NTA for the second year running, taking the inaugural Celebrity-Led Reality Docuseries award.

The new category also featured shows from Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash, Tyson Fury, Kelvin Fletcher, and Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse.

Celebrity-led programmes still featured in the Authored Documentary category, with documentaries from Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, former Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson, and Sharon Osbourne's film about her late husband Ozzy among the nominees.

Jeremy Clarkson holding an award in the air

Speaking to BBC News on the red carpet, their daughter Kelly Osbourne said her family were "honoured" that the documentary about her father had been nominated, describing it as a "tragic but beautiful story".

She said she had spoken to her mother Sharon just before arriving at the ceremony: "We are so close. I was on the phone with her before I got out of the car."

In the end, the public chose Our Girls: The Southport Families. The BBC programme followed the families of 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."

The Southport Families’ onstage at the National Television Awards

'We are dominating that category'

In the drama categories, Vicky McClure won Best Drama Performance for her role in crime thriller Trigger Point, from the first all-female shortlist in the category's history.

She told BBC News in the winners' room: "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."

Among those nominated alongside McClure was Sheridan Smith for her portrayal of campaigner Ann Ming in ITV true crime drama I Fought The Law.

While Smith missed out on the individual prize, I Fought The Law went on to win New Drama.

Norton dusts off his Swift-Kelce wedding suit

Away from the awards, nominee Graham Norton revealed his red carpet outfit had already had one high-profile outing this year.

"This is what I wore to Taylor Swift's wedding," he told BBC News.

Norton said guests had agreed not to reveal details of the celebrations. "I had a wonderful time and we all agreed by saying yes to going, we weren't going to blab about it."

Norton, who also featured in Swift's music video for Opalite earlier this year, said working with the singer showed him "what leadership is like at that level".

"It was such a happy set. Everyone was working as hard as they could for her," he said.