The National Television Awards featured a shock win on Tuesday evening as hit reality TV show The Traitors lost out to the celebrity version. The 2026 ceremony, which took place at The O2 London on 8 September and was attended by an array of famous faces and saw the likes of Gogglebox and Jeremy Clarkson take home awards on the night.
But when it came to the accolade for Best Reality Competition, The Traitors found itself going head-to-head with The Celebrity Traitors, in a rather strange turn of events.
Other shows in the category this year included I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, I’m A Celebrity… South Africa and Race Across the World.
ITV
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But it was The Celebrity Traitors that took home the gong as the cast of the first season – including eventual winner Alan Carr – took to the stage to accept the award from Gordon Ramsay.
“I’ve got a gold one and a silver one, look at me,” Alan said, before joking that he didn’t want to see the clip of him winning the show anymore.
He thanked the audience for voting for the show before Charlotte Church added: “I just wanted to say, that final, what a beautiful vignette of male tenderness and emotional expression.
“It was so emotional to watch it, so to Nick [Mohammed] and David [Olusoga] and Alan, you were just absolutely sublime, so kudos brother.”
The group also thanked the BBC cast, crew and production team that could not be present at the NTAs to accept the award.
ITV
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The first season of Celebrity Traitors aired in October last year and featured some of the franchise’s most iconic moments to date, including Alan being dubbed the worst Traitor of all time.
The Chatty Man was honoured at the ceremony with the Special Recognition Award, being serenaded by his pals Amanda Holden and Paloma Faith to mark the occasion.
A second season of the show is set to air later this year, with stars such as Bella Ramsey, Richard E Grant, James Blunt, Maya Jama and Michael Sheen.
Other celebs set to head to the castle in the Scottish Highlands include Hannah Fry, James Acaster, Jerry Hall, Joanne McNally, Joe Lycett, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Miranda Hart, Myha’la, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Ross Kemp, Amol Rajan, King Kenny, Sharon Rooney and Sebastian Croft.
The Celebrity Traitors returns later this year on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Season 1 is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
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Kirsty is a freelance writer and editor specialising in all things entertainment. Over the past 16 years, she has worked on showbiz desks at various national newspaper websites in London, including Express.co.uk, The Sun, and MailOnline.
More recently, she spent three years living in New York City writing celebrity and lifestyle news for DailyMail.com, The Mirror US, and Daily Express US. Kirsty graduated from Southampton Solent with a BA in Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing. When she’s not watching reruns of Sex and the City, you’ll find her listening to David Bowie and daydreaming about an espresso martini.
Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy
Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specializes in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more.
Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club.
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