The ‘great and good’ of the TV world are gathering at London’s O2 Arena tonight (September 5) to give themselves a pat on the back at the NTAs.
Host Joel Dommett’s already warned he might have to leg it if his wife goes into labour. We all know Ant and Dec will win the Best Presenter gong for the – snooze – 22nd year in a row. And you could bet your life on the fact no one will address the Phillip Schofield-shaped elephant in the room.
In my opinion, the event exists so celebs, telly bosses and their invited guests can sip free champers all night while congratulating each other on a jolly good year.
But the likes of Anton Du Beke, Stephen Mulhern and Sarah Lancashire aside, has it actually been a year worth celebrating in TV when we’ve had a very high-profile affair, bullying accusations and toxic workplace rumours being thrown around?
Besides, if Jane McDonald doesn’t make the shortlist I’m out.
The NTAs: A gratuitous excuse for a drunken jolly
If you ask me, and I’m well aware you haven’t, the NTAs are just an excuse for a drunken jolly – the final straw for me will be Holly Willoughby draped all over the This Morning sofa tomorrow with a hangover. Ugh. Spare me.
Awards, by their very nature, are just a gratuitous excuse to fill a couple of hours of telly and inflate the egos of celebs whose egos are already pretty sizeable.
Winning an NTA doesn’t mean you get more jobs or more money, it’s not the bloody Oscars, who cares! Not me, and I’m definitely not watching.
It just makes the huge divide between us and them, the haves and the have-nots, even more noticeable.
The haves and have-nots
The people on the guest list have most likely borrowed a designer dress for the night, spent hours in hair and make-up and will enjoy champagne and canapés before heading home with a bursting goody bag. Just what we need in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, right? Wrong!
Now, at this point, I must add a little disclaimer. In my younger years I did attend the National Television Awards once, and I enjoyed all the night had to offer – champagne, canapés and a dance with Brendan Cole.
But the next year that gap I spoke about was pretty damn evident when that invite didn’t land in my lap. Instead, the magazine I worked for at the time decided that only the bosses should attend, and as a junior member of staff, my name wasn’t down and I wasn’t coming in.
Yes, the skeptical among you may say it’s just sour grapes, and I’m just bitter to not get an invite. And you might be right. But in the current climate I’m just not sure that a glitzy awards bash celebrating a bunch of millionaires is setting entirely the right tone.
The NTAs needs a charity partner
The Pride of Britain Awards? Hell yes. The self-indulgent NTAs? No thanks. Sign up to partner with a charity partner next year and I’m in (except I doubt I’ll be invited after this).
So I’m not watching tonight. I’m not bothered who wins because it’ll be Ant and Dec and This Morning, same as it always is.
Enjoy your champers chaps, but pass the remote, Celebrity MasterChef is on and it’s nearly the final!
Read more: Holly and Phil’s last NTAs appearance and how it sparked boos from the audience
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