Martin Lewis received a rapturous round of applause as he took a swipe at the government over its handling of the economic crisis as he was honoured at the National Television Awards on Thursday.
The Money Saving Expert was voted TV’s Best Expert for his work on shows like Good Morning Britain and This Morning, as well as on the self-titled The Martin Lewis Money Show.
He frequently dishes out financial tips, tricks and savings advice, and has more recently co-hosted GMB, where he has held politicians to account over the economy during interviews.
During his acceptance speech at the NTAs, Martin made a pointed dig at prime minister Liz Truss and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, saying the country needs “somebody to get a grip on the economy and things a little bit better”.
Having beaten competition from “international treasure” David Attenborough to win the award, Martin said he was “quite shocked” to win.
“Whoever said we have had enough of experts, we haven’t and we need them more than ever right now,” he said.
After thanking his teams, Martin continued: “It has been a pretty horrible year financially. The energy crisis has been disastrous and left many people with terrible issues and mental health problems. I’m afraid the next year, with the mortgage problem and the knock-on to rents will be pretty bad.
“We need somebody to get a grip on the economy and things a little bit better,” he said, drawing cheers and applause from the audience in attendance at London’s Wembley Arena.
“But I shall will leave that for my show, which is back on next Tuesday. tonight, this nerd is gonna party,” he added.
Last year, it was announced that he was being awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List for services to broadcasting and consumer rights.
Last month, Martin pledged to donate almost £100,000 to a debt prevention charity after interviewing one of its bosses on GMB.