Over the years, award shows have been responsible for some of the most memorable showbiz moments ever.
From the LaLa Land/Moonlight mix-up at the Oscars to Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood’s disastrous turn hosting the Brit Awards, literally anything can happen when some of the biggest names in the industry are gathered under one roof and the TV cameras are live.
That’s something Judy Finnigan knows only too well, with her appearance at the 2000 National Television Awards going down in history.
It’s been 20 years exactly since the daytime TV host had a mortifying on-stage moment as she and husband Richard Madeley collected a gong for This Morning, which they hosted from 1988 to 2001.
This Morning had beaten Neighbours, Countdown and Pet Rescue to win the NTA for Best Daytime Show, which was presented by Les Dennis and Amanda Holden (you might have forgotten were an actual married couple back in those days).
After R&J made their way up on stage to say their thank yous, the crowd were a little more animated than they’d been at other points during the ceremony.
Richard Madeley being Richard Madeley believed this was because they wanted to hear his infamous Ali G impression (“I’m not doing it! I’m not doing it!”) – but it soon became apparent they were being vocal for a very different reason.
Poor Judy had not realised she’d experienced a rather embarrassing wardrobe malfunction, and was standing up at the podium with her bra on show to the thousands in the crowd in the Royal Albert Hall, as well as the millions watching at home.
Thankfully, Judy’s This Morning colleague John Leslie rushed to her aide, coming up on stage to cover her up.
But Judy took it all in good spirit, erupting with laughter as Richard stepped in to help.
“I’m sorry about that, let’s try that again!” she told the crowd.
Reflecting on the incident in a 2016 interview, Judy revealed that her bra was swiftly binned, despite becoming one of the most famous awards show outfits ever.
She recalled: “I was wearing a halterneck evening dress and had a brand new matching black bra but it didn’t fit properly so I swapped it for a trusty old favourite, a lacy pale pink.
”‘No one will ever know’, I said to Richard as we changed in our hotel room. They soon did of course. I was mortified. I chucked it into the dustbin the very next day.”
Relive the moment in the video below...