Amanda Holden avoided her best friend Alan Carr for a week to keep her surprise National Television Awards performance a secret before singing on stage at London's O2 Arena.
The 55-year-old television personality delivered a tribute performance of the song I Know Him So Well from the musical Chess alongside Paloma Faith to honour Carr during the star-studded ceremony.
Carr, 50, who was awarded the Special Recognition gong, had no idea about the tribute performance and only realised he was being honoured when his The Traitors co-star Faith popped up out of a coffin on stage.
Heart FM debrief and secret preparations
Holden gave a debrief about the performance on Heart FM on Wednesday to her co-host Jamie Theakston, detailing the extreme lengths she went to in order to preserve the surprise.
Holden revealed that she kept the secret from her own family as well as from Carr. "I didn't even tell my mum. I just told my mum when to put the telly on. She thought I was getting an award. I was like, 'no'. And I just said, 'just watch it!' And I didn't tell Alan. I've deliberately not spoken to Alan for a week, right?" Holden told Theakston on air.
To avoid leaking any details, Holden also altered her usual schedule for the event. She explained that she was working before going to the ceremony and walked the red carpet at around 6pm, something she noted she would never normally do.
Holden joked about their shared inability to keep secrets when speaking about her long-time friend. "Me and Alan have got the biggest gobs in showbusiness and we can't keep any secrets! And he just kept looking at me going, 'I can't believe it, I can't believe it,'" she said.
Tears and steamed glasses on stage
Holden described Carr's emotional reaction as he took to the stage following the musical numbers. "To see his little face, he was in tears, shaking. He got up onto the stage, his glasses were all steamed up. My instinct is always to take them off and clean them, which I always do whenever I'm with him, wherever we are. But I was in a black lace dress, there was nowhere for me to do it. So, I had to just leave him," she said.
Viewers praised the musical tribute online, branding the routine "iconic" and "the greatest NTAs moment ever", while one fan declared that Holden and Faith are "the new 2026 Xmas number 1 duo we never knew existed".
Theakston lauded Holden's vocals during their radio discussion, telling her: "It was amazing. I mean, I know that you can sing, it's no surprise to me, but there might be many people who maybe don't know how well you sing. You were on stage with, it has to be said, some other singers, and you absolutely outperformed them. I thought you did brilliantly."
During his acceptance speech, Carr admitted to the celebrity audience at London's O2 Arena that he was completely unaware of the surprise until Faith appeared. "This is how thick I am, it was only when Paloma came out that I realised it's me," Carr told the crowd. "I should have realised when they put me in the front row, I'm usually in the back with the people from Naked Attraction."
As the pair left the stage arm in arm after the tribute, Carr was seen playfully calling Holden a "little b****".
Attenborough win and ceremony highlights
The annual National Television Awards ceremony brought together the prominent figures of British television at London's O2, with comedian Joel Dommett returning as host for his sixth time.
Broadcaster David Attenborough, celebrating his 100th year, won the NTA for Best Presenter (TV Presenter), leaving popular presenting duo Ant and Dec without the gong for a second consecutive year. The Geordie duo had held the title for a record 23 years before losing to Gary Lineker at the previous ceremony. Attenborough was unable to attend, and producer Mark Brownlow accepted the gong on his behalf, focusing his acceptance speech on the dangers of climate change.
In other major categories, Jeremy Clarkson's Prime Video series Clarkson's Farm collected the Reality Docuseries award. Comedian Lee Mack won the Quiz Show gong for his ITV hit The 1% Club, attending the event with his three children and paying tribute to his wife in his speech.
The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award was presented by Paris Fury and her eight-year-old daughter Valencia to Michael McIntyre's Big Show. Meanwhile, Mrs Brown's Boys took home Best Comedy Show, in what will be a boost to creator Brendan O'Carroll after he was forced to cancel this year's festive specials after breaking his jaw.
Factual Entertainment was awarded to Gogglebox, now in its 28th series, which beat Stacey Solomon's Sort Your Life Out. The ceremony also featured the first ever all-female shortlist for Drama Performance, where Vicky McClure came out on top thanks to her role as volatile explosives officer Lana in Trigger Point.
Sheridan Smith led I Fought the Law to win New Drama, while the BBC special Our Girls: The Southport Families secured the Authored Documentary trophy. Long-running series Call the Midwife won Best Returning Drama, Emmerdale was named Best Serial Drama, and Jeff Hordley won Serial Drama Performance for his role as Cain Dingle in Emmerdale.
Full list of National Television Awards winners
The complete results for the National Television Awards 2026 across all categories:
- Reality Competition: The Celebrity Traitors (Winner). Nominees: I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, I'm A Celebrity... South Africa, Race Across the World, The Traitors.
- Quiz Show: The 1% Club (Winner). Nominees: Ant & Dec's Limitless Win, Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, Richard Osman's House of Games, The Chase.
- Returning Drama: Call the Midwife (Winner). Nominees: Blue Lights, Bridgerton, Stranger Things, Trigger Point.
- Reality Docuseries: Clarkson's Farm (Winner). Nominees: At Home With The Furys, Fletchers' Family Farm, Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, Stacey & Joe.
- Drama Performance: Vicky McClure as Lana Washington, Trigger Point (Winner). Nominees: Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet (The Other Bennet Sister), Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan (Call the Midwife), Ruth Jones as Elena Ravenscroft (Run Away), Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming (I Fought The Law).
- Serial Drama: Emmerdale (Winner). Nominees: Casualty, Coronation Street, EastEnders, Hollyoaks.
- Factual Entertainment: Gogglebox (Winner). Nominees: 24 Hours in Police Custody, Secret Garden, Sort Your Life Out, The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.
- New Drama: I Fought The Law (Winner). Nominees: A Woman of Substance, Believe Me, Heated Rivalry, The Other Bennet Sister.
- Authored Documentary: Our Girls: The Southport Families (Winner). Nominees: Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me.
- TV Presenter: David Attenborough (Winner). Nominees: Alison Hammond, Ant & Dec, Claudia Winkleman, Stacey Solomon.
- Comedy: Mrs Brown's Boys (Winner). Nominees: Amandaland, Changing Ends, Last One Laughing, Not Going Out.
- The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award: Michael McIntyre's Big Show (Winner). Nominees: Gladiators, The Graham Norton Show, The Masked Singer, Would I Lie to You?.
- Serial Drama Performance: Jeff Hordley as Cain Dingle, Emmerdale (Winner). Nominees: Aaron Thiara as Ravi Gulati (EastEnders), Gareth Pierce as Todd Grimshaw (Coronation Street), Paul Bradley as Nigel Bates (EastEnders), Sue Devaney as Debbie Webster (Coronation Street).
- Daytime: This Morning (Winner). Nominees: Good Morning Britain, James Martin's Saturday Morning, Loose Women, Scam Interceptors.
- Talent Show: Strictly Come Dancing (Winner). Nominees: Britain's Got Talent, The Great British Bake Off, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, The Great Pottery Throw Down.
