This is why Ant and Dec will not attend the National Television Awards
The presenting duo will not be there to collect the prize for Best TV Presenter should they win it for the 18th consecutive time
The National Television Awards will be missing two famous faces this year, as double act Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will not be attending the 2019 ceremony.
The presenting duo, who have been nominated for Best TV Presenter for the 18th year in a row, are instead filming the audition stages for the latest series of Britain’s Got Talent.
However, their nomination as a double act for the award is a contentious one, due to McPartlin’s absence from television from the bulk of 2018.
The 43-year-old decided to take a step back from his presenting duties after he plead guilty to drink-driving offences in April last year, with Donnelly having to present the remaining episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent's live shows by himself.
He was then joined by This Morning host Holly Willoughby for the latest series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
However, Ant is still hopeful that the public have voted for the pair, as he believes presenting partner Dec deserves it.
“He’s worked his socks off this year,” Ant said. “It's an accolade to how hard he's worked in tough circumstances. How good a friend he's been to me. How much of a professional he is.”
He added to The Sun, “If we do win – and I hope people still vote – then Dec deserves it.
“Dec will have to take most of it and I'll take a tiny bit for my few shows last year.”
Ant and Dec face stiff competition in the category, with the popular pair up against Bradley Walsh, Graham Norton, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby for the gong. But they do have history on their side, with 17 consecutive trophies on their mantlepieces.
The National Television airs tonight at 7:30pm on ITV
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