Comedian and TV presenter Mo Gilligan took a swipe at Miriam Margolyes at the National Television Awards in London following her controversial comments about Andi Peters.
The 38-year-old comic introduced himself to the audience by quipping: "If you know me, I’m Mo Gilligan. And if you don’t know me, then I’m Andi Peters."
Gilligan drew gasps and nervous laughter from the audience before announcing that the Factual Entertainment award had gone to Channel 4's Gogglebox.
The reference to the racism row sparked debate on social media platform X, with some branding the joke funny while others said it fell as flat as a pancake.
The swipe came after 85-year-old actress Margolyes used an offensive term to describe 56-year-old ITV presenter Peters's skin colour during an appearance on This Morning last week.
ITV bosses were forced to intervene last Thursday, and the clip was subsequently removed from the ITVX recording of the show after going viral and sparking outrage among viewers.
The phrase used by Margolyes, which can also be spelled "high yaller" or "high yellow", is an outdated and offensive slang term used in the US to describe a black person with a light complexion.
The On-Air Daytime Controversy
During the live broadcast, Margolyes impersonated presenter Christine Lampard's Northern Irish accent before turning to Peters and asking: "But what accent would be normal for you?"
Peters replied: "This is normal. This is what I am." Margolyes then said: "Oh, you're a mix, aren't you? You've got a black daddy and a white mummy."
Peters clarified: "No, no, no. Both my parents are black," before joking: "What have they put on me, am I a lighter shade than normal?"
Margolyes continued: "Both parents are I think you're what I would call a 'high yalla.' That's what they call it in America. Oh, when someone isn't deeply black, right?"
Peters noted: "I didn't even know there were shades," to which Margolyes added: "There are shades."
Worried about the direction of the conversation, producers issued a warning to Peters through his earpiece. Peters then said out loud: "Oh, okay. They're getting nervous now. They're getting nervous now."
Margolyes reassured him by saying: "Don't be nervous. We welcome everybody. That's what I want to write about in my book. It's about inclusion."
Margolyes Addresses Backlash
Margolyes later addressed the criticism surrounding her remarks, explaining: "I didn't want to embarrass or hurt Andi because he seems very nice. I'd never met him before; I didn't know who he was and I didn't know he was black until I saw him. When you see someone, of course you know they're black."
She added: "I wanted to know what he thought about it because that's what interests me."
Margolyes then used an offensive term for disabled people as she continued: "How do black people feel? How do brown people feel? How do cripples feel? How do fat people feel? You see what I mean? All of us feel something about who we are and how people see us, what they think of us."
The host interjected to clarify that in other words she wanted to discuss his identity with him, a point with which Margolyes expressed full agreement.
Margolyes added: "I am fascinated by other people. They are the people that interest me, not the celebrities so much. It's everybody. What their story is, what made them who they are, why you are the way you are."
National Television Awards 2026 Results
The ceremony at the National Television Awards featured major wins across multiple categories. In Factual Entertainment, Gogglebox won against fellow nominees 24 Hours in Police Custody, Secret Garden, Sort Your Life Out, and The Martin Lewis Money Show Live.
In the Reality Competition category, The Celebrity Traitors claimed victory over I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, I’m A Celebrity… South Africa, Race Across the World, and The Traitors.
The Quiz Show award went to The 1% Club, which defeated Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win, Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, Richard Osman’s House of Games, and The Chase.
Call the Midwife won Returning Drama over Blue Lights, Bridgerton, Stranger Things, and Trigger Point, while Clarkson’s Farm won Reality Docuseries ahead of At Home With The Furys, Fletchers’ Family Farm, Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, and Stacey & Joe.
Vicky McClure took home the Drama Performance award for playing Lana Washington in Trigger Point. Also nominated were Ella Bruccoleri as Mary Bennet in The Other Bennet Sister, Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan in Call the Midwife, Ruth Jones as Elena Ravenscroft in Run Away, and Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming in I Fought The Law.
Emmerdale won Serial Drama against Casualty, Coronation Street, EastEnders, and Hollyoaks. Jeff Hordley won Serial Drama Performance for playing Cain Dingle in Emmerdale, beating Aaron Thiara as Ravi Gulati in EastEnders, Gareth Pierce as Todd Grimshaw in Coronation Street, Paul Bradley as Nigel Bates in EastEnders, and Sue Devaney as Debbie Webster in Coronation Street.
I Fought The Law won New Drama over A Woman of Substance, Believe Me, Heated Rivalry, and The Other Bennet Sister. In Authored Documentary, Our Girls: The Southport Families won over Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, Jesy Nelson: Life After Little Mix, Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, and Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me.
David Attenborough won TV Presenter ahead of Alison Hammond, Ant & Dec, Claudia Winkleman, and Stacey Solomon. Daytime award winner This Morning triumphed over Good Morning Britain, James Martin’s Saturday Morning, Loose Women, and Scam Interceptors.
In comedy and entertainment, Mrs Brown’s Boys won Comedy against Amandaland, Changing Ends, Last One Laughing, and Not Going Out. The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award went to Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, beating Gladiators, The Graham Norton Show, The Masked Singer, and Would I Lie to You?. Strictly Come Dancing won Talent Show against Britain’s Got Talent, The Great British Bake Off, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, and The Great Pottery Throw Down.
