Category Entertainment News

We headed behind the scenes at the National Television Awards afterparty where celebs from across the small screen let their hair down, but there was one difference about this year’s bash

A-list award show afterparties have a reputation for being rowdy, but this year’s National Television Awards had celebrities on their best behaviour. As the show – which saw surprising winners such as Gary Lineker and Molly-Mae Hague – wrapped up, I joined the flurry of stars making their way to the exclusive after party.

However, many chose to skip out on the celebrations, including Maura Higgins and Danny Jones, who appear to have sworn off afterparties following their BRIT Awards scandal earlier this year. The awkward pair weren’t the only ones who didn’t turn up, with Molly-Mae, Olivia Attwood, Ben Shepherd, Helen Flanagan, Maya Jama and many others heading home after the show.

For those that did go along, there was a set of strict rules for entry to the notriously private event, with a ticket to the main show not quite cutting it.

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Guests queued up before arriving to the heavily-manned doors, where they traded afterparty tickets for satin wristbands before being allowed entry.

Inside, rows of prosecco, wine and beer were lined up across the several bars, complimentary for the guests to take. No one in the room went hungry either, with waiters first circling the room with canape trays before coming out with fish and chips, chicken burgers, and plenty of boxed food for guests.

The party had a surprisingly tame atmosphere, a contrast to what I’ve seen at previous NTA afterparties – which weren’t short of arguing, drama, and secret rendez vous. Showbiz veterans looked at home at the bash, with soap stars such as Bobby Brazier chatting to guests and mingling.

Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks stuck together near the bar as they politely mingled with fellow guests, but kept it far from rowdy as they lay low on the drinks.

Steve McFadden has played Phil Mitchell in the BBC soap since 1990, but away from the cameras, the father of five enjoys a more private life in Cornwall’s coastal town

EastEnders icon Steve McFadden has been famous for his portrayal of Phil Mitchell since 1990, and while his on screen character is well known to many up and down the country, he doesn’t share much on his private life.

Before finding fame on the screen, Steve held a variety of jobs including labourer, carrot picker, plumber, and builder’s merchant and now lives a quiet life in a Cornwall coastal town.

Over the decades, his character Phil has been embroiled in numerous headline-grabbing storylines, such as his rocky relationship with brother Grant and the unforgettable ‘Who Shot Phil?’ plot over twenty years ago.

As part of his role on our screens, Steve has been highly-awarded for his acting. During his time on the show, he has won Best Soap Actor at the Inside Soap Awards as well as the Outstanding Achievement Award at The British Soap Awards in 2016.

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Away from the drama of Albert Square, McFadden splits his life in three places, London, Majorca and Falmouth, Cornwall where he has owned a property since the 90s. In a 2017 interview with CornwallLive, Steve referred to Falmouth as his “second home”, stating that if it weren’t for his EastEnders commitments, he would choose to live there full-time.

He expressed his admiration for the area’s fishing opportunities, food, ale, and friendly locals, saying: “I get down as often as I can. It’s my second home, if it wasn’t for EastEnders it would be my first choice of residence, but because of the show I have to be in London more.”

But when asked if he’d move to the area following his stint in the BBC One show, he added: “I don’t see myself living in one place. My son lives in Majorca – I’ll go there, spend a bit of time in London and a bit of time in Cornwall. Everything you want is there – the metropolis of London, the sunshine of Majorca and the feelgood factor of Cornwall.”

Away from Albert Square, Steve was previously in a relationship with EastEnders co-star Lucy Benjamin, who also happened to play his on-screen wife Lisa. The pair began dating in 1999, though sadly called time on their relationship just a few years later in 2003.

Despite their romance not working out, the two actors have maintained a strong friendship. Lucy previously shared on ITV’s Loose Women how much she enjoyed working with Steve after she made a return to Albert Square in 2017.

She said: “There is so much stuff between Lisa and Phil. It was easy to play that. It was strange really, but lovely to be working with Steve, Tish and Natalie Cassidy again.” She added: “It was strange really but within 10 minutes it was like I’d never been away. It felt like reuniting with old friends and I knew they would take good care of me upon my return.”

Steve now lives with his partner Karen Cairns who he shares daughter Frankie with. Steve also has his hands full as a dad-of-five as he is also a father to son Matt and daughters Teona, Mollie Jane, Amelie Tinkerbell. He shares his eldest with Sue Marshall, and daughters Teona and Mollie Jane to Angela Bostock.

Speaking of the joys of fatherhood, Steve previously told The Observer: “When I was a kid, if I was unhappy, I’d stroke my dog. I was into bringing injured birds into the house, RSPCA activities.

“And the relationship that you have with animals, you can get that from your children: that unquestioning love and adoration and equal need. However the world judges you, if you do your kid two slices of toast for breakfast, you’ve achieved what you are on the planet to do.”

Skin Rocks, the beauty brand created by leading ‘skinfluencer’ Caroline Hirons, has just dropped a clever new product that amplifies the effects of all your other serums and creams

Skincare guru and super-influencer Caroline Hirons is one of the most trusted voices in the beauty world, and her beauty brand, Skin Rocks, makes some of the best skincare products we’ve tried – so whenever it launches something new, we’re all ears.

And that’s certainly the case with Skin Rocks’ newest drop, an essence called The Amplifier, a smart new addition to your routine which, as its name suggests, promises to amplify the effects of all your other skincare products. Doing more than just hydrating, The Amplifier also contains key active ingredients proven to improve how well other products work, including retinoids, vitamin C, antioxidants and peptides.

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Targeting everything from dehydration and dullness to fine lines and wrinkles, The Amplifier is suitable for all skin types, is designed to be applied AM and PM after cleansing and before your other serums and creams.

A large 100ml bottle costs £70 and, like all Skin Rocks products, comes with clinical tests to back up its claims; tests showed an increase an elasticity by up to 95% after eight weeks, with moisturisation immediately increased by 104%. Skin firmness and the look of pores was also improved.

Early customer reviews are also positive, both on the Skin Rocks website and on Space NK, where these products are also stocked:

“From the very first use, my skin felt hydrated and comfortable, and I didn’t experience any sensitivity throughout the trial. I’ve mainly been using The Amplifier as a hydrating toner, and I’ve found that my moisturiser absorbs beautifully on top of The Amplifier, leaving my skin feeling calm, nourished and well-prepped,” one review reads.

“She’s done it again. Another beautifully stunning product added to the Skin Rocks range,” a Space NK shopper wrote. “This just feels luxury, it applies easily and can say that after a week, my skin is looking so much brighter, more hydrated and healthier, especially on my neck and chest area. I will definitely be re-purchasing once I finish. I hope they have a mini coming of this one!”

“I’m always looking for more ways to get the most out of my skincare – using this knowing it’s boosting your vitamin C and retinoid,” a third review reads. “Looking forward to reviewing again when finished bottle to compare difference in skin – it already feels brighter and more hydrated.

“I did feel the product itself was quite watery so feel like I had to sit and wait for it to dry before applying the rest of my skin routine (I’m a working mum of 2 and always feel in a rush most mornings) but overall I did love this product and would continue to use it,” they added.

If it’s a purely hydration you’re after from an essence and want something a little cheaper, however, we recommend trying Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Probiotics Barrier Essence, £21, or Then I Met You The Giving Essence, £51.

You could also get your hydration boost from a mist; Curél Deep Moisture Spray, £19.50, is one of Caroline’s long-time favourites.

Former Match of the Day host Gary Lineker won big at this year’s National Television Awards as he bagged the Television Presenter award over long-standing winners Ant and Dec

Gary Lineker made history at this year’s National Television Awards when he broke Ant and Dec’s long reign. The former Match of the Day host shocked when he bagged this year’s Television Presenter award, meaning the Geordie duo missed out for the first time in 23 years.

For years, those pitted against Ant and Dec would resign in the fact they knew they would lose out. However, last night’s ceremony marked the end of their impressive reign as Gary swooped in despite his exit from Match of the Day.

He also won against Stacey Solomon, Alison Hammond and Claudia Winkleman. Gary’s achievement came after his early exit from Match of the Day following a series of controversies around his social media posts.

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Speaking after his win about his future, he said: “I really don’t know. At the moment, I’m really looking forward to working with ITV and I’ve got a podcast business that I have to run so I’m not so sure. I’ve got so many great memories from such a long period at the BBC.”

He added: “I don’t think anyone thought I was cancelled. It was obviously just a mistake, an oversight. I was never in the slightest bit concerned for that but this is lovely and there’s no doubt that there’s perhaps a message here that it’s ok to share your views and speak up for those who don’t perhaps have a voice.”

Gary left the BBC’s Match Of The Day earlier than expected after he had shared a series of comments on social media. One comment specifically saw him post in May 2025 concerning the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict that included a rat emoji.

The rat image has been historically used in anti-Semitic propaganda. Gary said sorry for sharing the post and explained he was unaware of the image’s connotations.

He said he “would never knowingly share anything anti-Semitic”. Despite Gary’s apology, the controversy led to the BBC confirming his early exit from the show.

Gary later confirmed he would not be part of their coverage for the 2026 World Cup or the 2025/26 FA Cup. At the time, director general of the BBC, Tim Davie, said: “Gary has acknowledged the mistake he made.

“Accordingly, we have agreed he will step back from further presenting after this season. Gary has been a defining voice in football coverage for the BBC for over two decades.

“His passion and knowledge have shaped our sports journalism and earned him the respect of sports fans across the UK and beyond. We want to thank him for the contribution he has made.”

BBC Sport director Alex Kay-Jelski had taken a key role in the decision not to hand Gary a new contract, and he spoke about the host back in November.

“Gary is a world-class presenter, and we’re delighted that he’ll lead our coverage of the next World Cup and continue to lead our live coverage of the FA Cup,” Kay-Jelski said, months before his exit.

“After 25 seasons Gary is stepping down from MOTD. We want to thank him for everything he has done for the show, which continues to attract millions of viewers each week. He’ll be hugely missed on the show but we’re so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football.”

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Former Love Islander Molly-Mae Hague has received backlash after taking home the National Television Award for best authored documentary this year, despite her doubts

Molly-Mae Hague’s fans have jumped to her defence after some have criticised the former Love Islander for winning the award for best authored documentary at the National Television Awards.

The reality TV star was up against tough competition, including Strictly’s Amy Dowden, who was nominated for a documentary about her battle with cancer, Freddie Flintoff’s documentary following his near-fatal crash on Top Gear, and a film on Rob Burrow’s journey with motor neurone disease.

Some felt Molly-Mae’s documentary – which focused on building her brand, raising her daughter and her relationship with Tommy Fury – was underserving of the win. Taking to social media, some called the win an “absolute joke”, a “slap in the face” and emblematic of “everything wrong with this country”.

But her fans also jumped online to defend her, highlighting that she had no influence over the result. “It’s not her fault,” one wrote online.

Another continued to point out that she won “because we, as the public, voted” and another praised Molly-Mae for the way she handled the win.

“The poor girl can’t win lately,” they wrote. “ITV should have separated the categories, but the public voted and she won because of that.

“I thought she handled it with such grace, even dedicating her award to Rob and his family, which was really admirable.”

During her speech, Molly-Mae said Rob’s story was “far more inspirational” than her’s, and that just to be nominated was “an honour”.

“Just to be nominated for this award was such an honour,” she shared. “I think as you guys saw, we were up against some seriously inspirational people in this category.

“To Lindsay, Rob Burrow’s wife and his children, his story was far more inspirational than mine could ever be. It was just incredible and touched me in more ways than I can explain. This one’s for you Rob, and to the other inspirational people in this category.”

Vernon Kay, who has two daughters with Strictly Come Dancing’s Tess Daly, didn’t hold back on his views during a live exchange with his BBC Radio 2 co-star Jeremy Vine

Vernon Kay told his BBC Radio 2 co-star Jeremy Vine not to get him “angry”, as the pair discussed a recent report about children doing chores. Jeremy brought attention to the study from ParentKind, which found that less than half of UK children help with housework at home.

After presenting the statistics, Jeremy pondered whether “the whole point of childhood is that you don’t do them,” before asking Vernon: “Isn’t that true?”.

In response, the husband of Strictly Come Dancing’s Tess Daly light-heartedly replied: “Don’t make me angry Jeremy. You won’t like me when I’m angry.”

Not stopping there, Jeremy went on to say: “It’s a horrible world out there, do you need to throw in, ‘Tidy your bedroom?'”

Expressing his views, Vernon passionately replied: “Yeah! How do you learn?”.

“How do you learn responsibility for yourself? You can’t learn responsibility for yourself until the age of 16.”

Provoking further debate, Jeremy made things personal by asking Vernon: “But what if one day your children said to you, ‘I had a great childhood, except I kept being asked to wash up?'”

Vernon responded: “Doesn’t bother me! That means mummy and daddy have taught you hard work.

“It starts at the sink, washing up, get involved, stacking up the dishwasher if that’s your equivalent these days, siding the table, you know, that kind of stuff. Going down the pit, that was the old school equivalent, some of our parents were working at 16.”

Jeremy proceeded to enquire whether Vernon would permit his daughters to take up chimney sweeping, to which he said no, due to their lack of skills for such work.

Chuckling, he continued: “I would love for you to meet my eldest Phoebe and get her to explain to you Jeremy Vine why she’s not going up the chimney.”

He proceeded to declare: “Chores are good for you, they really are!

“I mean, we all hated doing chores but in hindsight they’re good for you, I did all of that.”

Amused by his enthusiastic stance on the matter, Jeremy carried on: “It’s always the last story that gets you, isn’t it.”

“It really is, well it’s you that gets me, I love it,” Vernon responded, laughing.

The presenter has two daughters Phoebe, 20, and Amber, 16, with his wife of 22 years, Tess Daly.

Previously speaking about their parenting approach, he revealed that he and Tess “alternate the roles” of “good cop, bad cop”.

He told The Mirror: “We’ve not pushed them in a certain direction to continue their education or whatever. It’s totally up to them.