JANET STREET-PORTER: Call me a sore loser, but life’s too short to watch other people win NTA awards and share the red carpet with glamorous young women wearing parcel tape across their chests
Some things come around like clockwork every single year: hot-cross buns on sale in January; halloween costumes for your pets; Madonna posing (again) in her pants; Queen ‘discovering’ a new Freddie Mercury single, that just happened to be sitting on the shelves for decades.
Call me a cynic, was there any doubt that Ant and Dec would NOT win the best presenter award at the National Television Awards for the 21st YEAR IN A ROW!! The lads have picked up more awards than we’ve had Action Plans on saving the NHS. Last night, the pair couldn’t even collect their 21st gong in person as they’d caught Covid.
Predictably, social media is awash with whingers complaining about Ant and Dec’s historic result. The NTAs have been running for 27 years and the cheeky chappies always manage to come up trumps. Disgruntled viewers are moaning that it’s not fair, that the result was boring, with some even suggesting they should ‘bow out and give others a chance’.
Unlike the other Loose Women, I didn’t pop on a spangly dress, hitch up my support wear and make the long journey to a draughty red carpet in North London to be upstaged by a load of glamourous people wearing three strips of parcel tape across their chests, with killer heels. (Maura Higgins, pictured last night)
Predictably, social media is awash with whingers complaining about Ant and Dec’s historic result. The NTAs have been running for 27 years and the cheeky chappies always manage to come up trumps
I couldn’t agree more. It is boring to reward the same people over and over again for doing their job really well, a job they are extremely well rewarded for. But let’s not forget who voted for the National Television Awards: the viewers, the very same people who seem so incensed with the result.
I’ve given up attending awards, because if you’re not a winner, then you feel like a crappy loser. And life’s too short for that.
Award ceremonies make me feel inadequate, ugly and worthless. Unlike the other Loose Women, I didn’t pop on a spangly dress, hitch up my support wear and make the long journey to a draughty red carpet in North London to be upstaged by a load of glamourous people wearing three strips of parcel tape across their chests, with killer heels.
The dress code for the ceremony seems to be- ‘wear less’ and look sparkly at all costs. Not a look that favours many women over 30. Pictured: Holly Willoughby, Maya Jama, Maura Higgins and Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu (L-R)
The dress code for the ceremony seems to be- ‘wear less’ and look sparkly at all costs. Not a look that favours many women over 30.
I prefer to participate from the sofa with the dog as my non-complaining date. That way, I’m not going to be judged on my baggy frock, my comfy shoes, or my flat hair.
I know when I’m going to be beaten, and I’m the world’s worse loser. I’m the person who lost the Celebrity Masterchef trophy to Ade Edmondson and then blurted out ‘I should have won, my food was better’. OK, it was charmless, but that’s how I felt at the time.
The National Television awards, however, are unique because they are chosen from viewers’ votes, which always favour the most popular shows. Hence the success of Ant and Dec, and (inevitably) This Morning
Whereas cooking competitions are about being judged by experts (if we can call dear old Greg Wallace that), TV awards rarely recognise new talent, and are all about confirming the predictable, the safe and the well-loved. The BAFTAS are dished out by secretive committees of luvvies and telly critics, with a lot of score-settling and box ticking affecting the results.
The National Television awards, however, are unique because they are chosen from viewers’ votes, which always favour the most popular shows. Hence the success of Ant and Dec, and (inevitably) This Morning.
In spite of the huge amount of brilliant entertainment and drama that’s now offered on subscription and streaming, mainstream television has managed to hold off the challengers. Since Covid, ratings have stayed strong because viewers came to rely on television as our friend and companion during the long months of lockdown. Now, with the cost of living rising, thousands are cutting back on expensive subscriptions to Netflix and Amazon, in favour of mainstream channels.
So, it’s not surprising that Ant and Dec – who are brilliant at hosting the most popular programmes on television – consistently win the award for best presenter at the NTAs. But even that is rather odd. There are two of them, in case nobody hadn’t noticed, so why not give another award to the person who does the job of presenting a show all by themselves without a sidekick? (Just saying).
The NTAs never contain many surprises. Over the last few years a handful of popular programmes win in rotation. Strictly, Gogglebox, and I’m a Celebrity pick up gongs with dreary regularity. It doesn’t make for exciting television for viewers at home, and it’s a grim evening for the stars and presenters at the actual event.
They’ve spent hours getting ready, posing on the red carpet trying to look like they’re having the time of their lives, their faces set in cheery smiles pretending they don’t mind losing to the same small band of winners who manage to fake amazement at their predictable success year in and year out.
The voting public seem terrified of choosing anything new, of recognising new talent, new formats and new writing. British Television is the best in the world, but surely the onscreen performers and behind the scenes producers and creators deserve a better showcase than this?
Peaky Blinders- which has become a huge hit in the USA- has won the NTA for best drama many times, along with the star, Cillian Murphy, who plays Thomas Shelby. I love this show, but isn’t it time to declare three hits and you’re disqualified?
Peaky Blinders- which has become a huge hit in the USA- has won the NTA for best drama many times, along with the star, Cillian Murphy, who plays Thomas Shelby
The factual entertainment series Gogglebox and the latest version of the Chase win year in and year out. Emmerdale, EastEnders and Coronation street rotate as winners in the continuing drama category.
Strictly has won best Talent show for longer than I’ve co-owned a dog, and I’m a Celebrity takes home the Bruce Forsyth Award for Entertainment more times than I’ve had my hair dyed this year.
I can tell the organisers try to ring the changes by shuffling categories a bit, but nothing seems to dent the unswerving loyalty of viewers to their favourite shows, come what may.
Television is giving us the best drama in years, so singling out one series- Trigger Point, starring Line of Duty star Vicky McClure- seems rather inadequate. What about other clever new series like Sherwood, the Ipcress File, Marriage or the Suspect?
It’s time for the organisers of the NTA’s to have a radical rethink and better reflect all the new formats- from Love Island to the Repair Shop- which are equally cherished by viewers but don’t have the same ratings as prime time stalwarts like Strictly?
Voters for the NTAs do not have poor taste- the problem is that the richness and variety of British television deserves a better showcase. I’m not just writing that because Loose Women never wins- the show is more popular than ever. It would be nice to get an accolade, though.
After years in the business as a producer and a presenter, the only award I’ve ever won was a BAFTA, decades ago. After years of being nominated and failing to win enough member’s votes, someone in charge decided to take pity on me and my co-producer and come up with a special one-off category.
I was gobsmacked- but hugely grateful.
Loose Women richly deserves an award no matter how it’s chosen- just tell me who to bribe.
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