National Television Awards: who will win, who should win
Broadcasting’s great, good and glamorous are clearing a space on their mantelpieces ahead of Wednesday night’s 24th annual National Television Awards.
Hosted by dapper Dermot O’Leary at London’s O2 Arena, the NTAs are “the people’s BAFTAs”, being entirely viewer-voted and broadcast live on ITV.
Here’s our rundown of who deserves to win this year’s 10 key categories – and who probably will…
Drama
Nominees: Call The Midwife, Casualty, Doctor Who, Our Girl, Peaky Blinders
Will win: Ice-cool period crime thriller Peaky Blinders, which bagged a BAFTA last May and returns soon for an eagerly awaited fifth run of tweed-capped Brummie bootlegging.
Should win: The unjustly underrated Call The Midwife has been nominated several times but never won an NTA. Despite multiple cast changes, the nuns-and-nurses favourite remains heart-warming and stealthily hard-hitting in its eighth series. Could this finally be its year?
New Drama
Nominees: Bodyguard, A Discovery Of Witches, Girlfriends, Killing Eve, The Cry
Will win: Jed Mercurio’s political thriller Bodyguard was the ratings hit of 2018 and its hefty viewing figures should translate into votes. Well, unless someone kills off Dermot halfway through the show or has “kompromat” on the NTA organisers.
Should win: BBC stablemate Killing Eve was a more subtle, stylish spy saga but risks being steamrollered by Bodyguard and going home empty-handed. Nobody tell Villanelle lest she reach for a hatpin or throw someone’s ice cream in anger.
Drama Performance
Nominees: Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Michelle Keegan (Our Girl), Richard Madden (Bodyguard), Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders), Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who)
Will win: Richard Madden for his bomb-defusing, bare-bottomed, war-traumatised turn as Bodyguard’s all-action hero PS David Budd. Yes ma’am, thank you ma’am. Lavender outbound.
Should win: Whittaker or Comer, who both did excellent jobs with charismatically off-kilter characters: Whittaker as the first female Doctor and Comer as playful-but-deadly assassin Villanelle.
Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
Nominees: All Round To Mrs Brown’s, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, The Graham Norton Show, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Love Island
Will win: Saturday Night Takeaway would normally be favourite here but after Ant’s absence for half the series following his drink-driving arrest, it’s all to play for.
Should win: I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, which had its most enjoyable series in years thanks to the likes of Harry Redknapp, Emily Atack, John Barrowman, Anne Hegerty and, for a week at least, Noel Edmonds. Mr Blobby was conspicuous by his absence.
Serial Drama
Nominees: Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks
Will win: On-form Yorkshire soap Emmerdale has enjoyed another fine year of rollercoaster rural shenanigans and looks set to make it a hat-trick of consecutive wins. Drinks all round at The Woolpack.
Should win: Emmerdale deserves it but our second choice would be cobbled stalwart Coronation Street.
Serial Drama Performance
Nominees: Emma Atkins (Emmerdale), Danny Dyer (EastEnders), Bonnie Langford (EastEnders), Lucy Pargeter (Emmerdale), Jack P Shepherd (Coronation Street)
Will win: Emmerdale’s two Dingle diva nominees could split its fanbase’s vote, leaving the way clear for Jack P Shepherd to claim the prize for his affecting portrayal of troubled David Platt, who was at the centre of a male rape storyline.
Should win: Bonnie Langford, who has been both heartbreaking and hard-hitting as Carmel Kazemi, crusading mother of a knife crime victim.
Comedy
Nominees: Benidorm, The Big Bang Theory, Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Peter Kay’s Car Share
Will win: Infectious commuting romcom Car Share, which returned last May for two special final episodes and saw supermarket sweethearts John and Kayleigh finally get together. But will beloved Bolton comic Kay make a surprise appearance to collect the award after a year out of the spotlight?
Should win: In the absence of our other favourites, Derry Girls and This Country, then Car Share. If it’s any of the others, we’ll slam the door of a red Fiat 500L in a strop.
Talent Show
Nominees: Britain's Got Talent, Dancing On Ice, Strictly Come Dancing, The Voice UK, The X Factor
Will win: Ratings juggernaut Strictly had another superlative year, complete with column inch-filling showmances, drunken snogs and bullying controversies. Oh, and the odd bit of ballroom dancing too.
Should win: Strictly is surely the only choice here: a beacon of talent show buoyancy while the others steadily sink.
TV Judge
Nominees: Simon Cowell (Britain’s Got Talent/The X Factor), Robert Rinder (Judge Rinder), Louis Tomlinson (The X Factor), David Walliams (Britain’s Got Talent), Robbie Williams (The X Factor)
Will win: Walliams, the clown prince of BGT and a champion of its eventual winner, comedian Lost Voice Guy.
Should win: As a different kind of judge, it would be pleasing to see Rob Rinder win it. But it’s baffling why no female judges are nominated for the second year running. Where are Prue Leith, Shirley Ballas and Dame Darcey Bussell? (We’re fine with Ayda Field being left off).
TV Presenter
Nominees: Ant & Dec, Bradley Walsh, Graham Norton, Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield
Will win: Messrs McPartlin and Donnelly have bagged this gong for 17 years running and are bookies’ favourites to continue that extraordinary run, despite Ant’s absence from our screens for most of 2018 as he focused on rehab. Expect the O2 roof to lift off if he goes up on-stage.
Should win: Graham Norton, for continued chat show excellence, or Holly Willoughby, who successfully deputised for Ant in the jungle. As always, if Pip ’n’ Holly were also allowed to enter as a pair, they’d be serious threats to Geordie domination. Instead they’ll hope to win the Daytime gong and be nursing the usual hilariously huge hangovers on Wednesday’s This Morning.
The National TV Awards are live on ITV at 7.30pm Tuesday
