The viewers have spoken. The votes are in. Britain’s best-loved TV programmes and performers can be revealed in the eagerly awaited shortlist for the 24th annual National Television Awards.
The final round of voting opens today (7th January 2019). Now it is time for the nation to decide who will emerge victorious at the star-studded ceremony, broadcast live on ITV on 22nd January 2019 from The O2 London and hosted by the inimitable Dermot O’Leary.
News in on the Bush Telegraph: Holly Willoughby has been a smash-hit in the jungle in 2018. But her fellow TV Presenters have also had a barnstorming year – Can long-time reigning champions Ant & Dec make it an incredible 18-year winning streak and retain their TV Presenter title? With Ant McPartlin taking a break for much of 2018, Graham Norton, Bradley Walsh, Phillip Schofield and Holly might fancy their chances of usurping the dominant duo.
A brand new category, New Drama, recognises an outstanding year for exciting debut series. Will the nail-biting tension and explosive twists of ratings phenomenon Bodyguard propel it to victory? Or will globe-trotting cat-and-mouse thriller Killing Eve assassinate its chances? Also up for New Drama are brooding fantasy fable A Discovery of Witches, the glorious Girlfriends and emotive thriller The Cry.
It’s an intriguing battle of the sexes in Drama Performance, where three all-action women - Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, Our Girl’s Michelle Keegan and first ever female Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker - take on two tough guys in Peaky Blinders’ Cillian Murphy and Bodyguard’s Richard Madden.
Is that man Dec about to take home The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award? He has two chances thanks to Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! But where would our Fridays be without The Graham Norton Show or our summers without Love Island? And who could resist an invite to go All Round To Mrs Brown’s?
It’s another battle royale as the ratings-grabbing contests clash for the Talent Show trophy. Dancing on Ice skated back into the public’s affections after four years away, but where will viewers rank it among TV favourites Britain’s Got Talent, The Voice UK, The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing?
Our soaps once again became big talking points as they pushed boundaries: the knife crime drama in EastEnders bringing Bonnie Langford’s talents to the fore and Jack P Shepherd excelling on Coronation Street as David endured an horrific rape. Also up for Serial Drama Performance are Emma Atkins, who mined Charity’s past traumas on Emmerdale, while co-star Lucy Pargeter had the nation in tears as Chas lost her baby. Danny Dyer meanwhile was put through the wringer as landlord Mick Carter faced prison.
TV Judge looks like one of the most closely-fought categories. Talent show supremo Simon Cowell comes up against his new X Factor rivals Robbie Williams and Louis Tomlinson, along with his BGT tormentor-in-chief David Walliams, who beat the boss last year. The shortlist is completed by an actual judge, courtroom adjudicator Robert Rinder.
It’s a fascinating tussle for the Drama award, where military series Our Girl and stylish Brummie gangster saga Peaky Blinders come up against medical stalwarts Call The Midwife and Casualty - not to mention the new-look Doctor Who.
The National Television Awards is the UK’s leading TV awards event, celebrating the nation’s best-loved, most successful TV shows and stars. The NTAs are the awards that listen to the viewing public. Now it is time for them to make their voices heard – by voting!
HOW TO VOTE
You can vote free online at www.nationaltvawards.com OR vote by phone on 0905 647 2019
Calls cost 25p per minute, plus your network access charge, and should last no longer than seven minutes
Votes must be in by 12 noon on Tuesday 22 January 2019.
All new votes will be added to those already submitted in the first round of voting, and the results will be revealed at the NTA ceremony, LIVE, on ITV from The O2 London on 22nd January 2019.
For full terms and conditions and privacy policy, see nationaltvawards.com
NTA Tickets:
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2019 NTA Categories:
New Drama
Drama
Drama Performance
Serial Drama
Serial Drama Performance
Newcomer
Daytime
Talent Show
Factual Entertainment
Quiz Show
Comedy
The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
TV Judge
TV Presenter