National Television Awards 2022: Martin Lewis calls on ‘someone to get a grip on the economy’ during speech

Consumer champion Martin Lewis has called on “somebody to get a grip on the economy” amid the cost of living crisis as he won the expert award at the National Television Awards.

Mr Lewis admitted he was surprised to win the prize after he was nominated against veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough  and praised the other nominees, The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades and farming contractor Kaleb Cooper.

Collecting his prize at London’s OVO Wembley Arena, he said: “It’s been a pretty horrible year financially.

“I mean, the energy crisis has been disastrous and left many people with terrible issues and mental health problems.

“I’m afraid the next year, with the mortgage problem and the knock-on to rent, is going to be pretty bad. And you know what? We need somebody to get a grip on the economy and put things a little bit back.”

Sir Lenny Henry won the NTAs’ coveted gold special recognition award in honour of his long-running and varied career in television.

This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were booed after they won the daytime award.

They had faced controversy over claims they skipped the queue for the Queen’s lying in state but warded off competition from Loose Women, The Chase and The Repair Shop.

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! won the Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award, beating Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Taskmaster and The Graham Norton Show.

Reigning I’m A Celebrity winner and Emmerdale star Danny Miller collected the award, thanking hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for “making the show what it is” and the production staff for helping get the show back on track after a storm stopped filming for several days.

It was a successful night for Ant and Dec, who also took their 21st consecutive best presenter win. However, the Geordie double act weren’t there to pick up their gongs as they’d recently tested positive for COVID.

ITV thriller Trigger Point, starring Vicky McClure, picked up the best new drama award. The other nominees in the category were LGBTQ+ drama Heartstopper, medical memoir This Is Going To Hurt and prison drama Time.

Eurovision star Sam Ryder kicked off the award show with his hit song Space Man, with which he won second place at the song contest earlier this year.

The talent show judge category was awarded to Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke, who fought off competition from David Walliams, Mo Gilligan and RuPaul.

The King delivered a special message to the Emmerdale cast and crew for their 50th anniversary in which he praised the importance of the countryside.

Mark Charnock, who stars as Marlon Dingle in Emmerdale, won the serial drama performance. The show won the best serial drama award.

Peaky Blinders won the returning drama gong, beating competition from period drama Bridgerton, medical series Call The Midwife and legal drama The Split. Star Cillian Murphy won the award for best drama performance for his role as Thomas Shelby.

Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway won the authored documentary prize for a second consecutive year. Last year she won the award for a programme about her family’s life after her husband, former political adviser Derek Draper, spent a year in hospital being treated for coronavirus.

She won this year’s prize for her follow-up programme, Caring For Derek, in which Mr Draper and Garraway shared insights into their family lives as he continues to battle long-term effects from the virus.

The talent show category went to Strictly Come Dancing, comedy to After Life, factual entertainment to Gogglebox, quiz game show to Beat The Chasers and rising star to Paddy Beaver for his role as Max Turner in Coronation Street.