Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have broken their silence after finally losing at the National Television Awards on Wednesday night and delivered their verdict on the man who beat them.
The presenting pair, who host shows like I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Saturday Night Takeaway together, saw their 23-year winning streak come to an end inside The O2 Arena as Gary Lineker collected the prize for Best Presenter.
Former Match of the Day anchor Gary, 64, was shortlisted for the fan-voted award just months after his early exit from BBC show in May, following a row after he shared a post about Zionism on social media.
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While Ant and Dec may have missed out on the main award, they didn’t leave empty handed thanks to I’m A Celebrity beating the likes of The Traitors and Love Island to be named Best Reality Competition.
The Geordie duo, who many think were tipped off about Gary’s win, filmed a video on their Instagram Stories on Thursday morning to share their reaction to missing out on the Best Presenterand celebrate their show’s win.
“Hello from sunny South Africa, it’s us,” Dec begins in the video. “We just want to jump on here and say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! at the NTAs last night.”
“Yes, thank you very much,” Ant added as the pair whooped. “Everyone here is very happy and thank you to everyone that voted for us for the Best Presenter category, even though we couldn’t get it across the line this year. We were beaten by an up and coming new guy, 64-year-old whippersnapper Gary Lineker.”
Dec went on to praise Gary’s emotional speech as he added: “Congratulations to Gary – great speech too.” Ant seconded his pal’s words, saying: “Great speech, thoroughly deserved.”
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Collecting his award on Wednesday night, Gary – who has been a vocal supporter for Palestine – said: “I think it demonstrates that perhaps it’s OK sometimes for us to use our platform to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice.”
Gary also said that Ant and Dec are “brilliant”, and added that “it’s an honour to follow in their footsteps” when he was questioned at the winner’s press conference.
He said: “I’m doing great. I’m enjoying having weekends off for the first time in my adult life, which has been great fun. I’m still watching loads of football, still doing the same sort of things, and I’ve got a new show coming up for ITV, which I start filming next week – The Box, which goes out, I think, probably next year.”
Asked if the award proves he has not been cancelled, he said: “I don’t think anyone seriously thought that I was cancelled at any point. It was obviously just a mistake and oversight. And I think everyone saw it for that. So I was never in the slightest bit concerned for that.”
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Source: Mirror
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