Awards season is now in full swing, and Tuesday (23 January) night will see the red carpet rolled out once again for the National Television Awards.
With 2017 being a particularly strong one for British TV, competition is set to be tough at the event.
Ahead of the ceremony, we’ve been through the nominations with a fine tooth comb to decide who is most deserving in each of the 14 categories, as well as predicting who is most likely to triumph.
Challenge Show
Nominees: ‘I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!’, ‘Love Island’, ‘MasterChef’ and ‘The Great British Bake Off’
Who should win: ‘Love Island’ became a cultural phenomenon last year, helping it to set ratings records for ITV2. With a stellar cast, it captured the buzz that the early years of ‘Big Brother’ did, and for that reason, we’d love to see the newest kid on the reality show block take the title.
Who will win: While it may have been one of the dullest series in its history, ‘I’m A Celebrity’ has triumphed for so many years now that we can’t see this changing any time soon.
Crime Drama
Nominees: ‘Broadchurch’, ‘Line Of Duty’, ‘Little Boy Blue’ and ‘Sherlock’
Who should win: ‘Line Of Duty’ made the well-deserved leap from BBC Two to BBC One last year and had viewers totally and utterly gripped in a way none of the other nominees did.
Who will win: While there many only have been three episodes to enjoy in 2017, we wouldn’t underestimate the ‘Sherlock’ fandom in coming through for the show, particularly as it looked like it may have been its swansong.
Talent Show
Nominees: ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, ‘The Voice UK’ and ‘The X Factor’
Who should win: 2017 was officially Strictly Come Dancing’s most successful series ever, so it seems only right that it should triumph in this category.
Who will win: With ‘The Voice’ failing to make much of an impression last year and ‘The X Factor’ suffering its lowest-ever viewing figures, we don’t think there’s much in the way of competition for the juggernaut that is ‘Strictly’.
Drama
Nominees: ‘Call The Midwife’, ‘Casualty’, ‘Doctor Foster’, ‘Game Of Thrones’ and ‘Liar’
Who should win: While series two of ‘Doctor Foster’ caused some division among fans, it was undeniably a national talking point last autumn, so would be a deserving winner. Although there would also be something very charming in seeing ‘Call The Midwife’ scoop this gong.
Who will win: ‘Casualty’ may have half the ratings of ‘Call The Midwife’ and ‘Doctor Foster’, it has a very loyal fanbase who helped it scoop this gong last year. And after a year of strong storylines, we reckon it could be two on the trot for the long-running medical drama.
TV Presenter
Nominees: Ant & Dec, Bradley Walsh, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield
Who should win: It’s a real pity Phillip and Holly haven’t been nominated together in this category, as this is probably the only way someone other than Ant and Dec could win this category. Plus we can only imagine the hangovers the ‘This Morning’ pair would be nursing the following day if they were to triumph.
Who will win: Do we even need to ask this? After a particularly difficult 12 months for the Geordie duo, we’d be completely dumbfounded if anyone managed to end Ant and Dec’s 16-year run of wins.
Factual Entertainment
Nominees: ‘Ambulance’, ‘Diana, Our Mother: Her Life And Legacy’, ‘Gogglebox’ and ‘Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs’
Who should win: ‘Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs’ has become a much-loved show and it would be lovely to see it finally get the recognition it deserves. Plus, hopefully there will be some cute doggies there to collect the award.
Who will win: Some may argue that ‘Gogglebox’ has past its best, but a win this year would be the perfect tribute to late star Leon Bernicoff, who passed away just before Christmas.
Drama Performance
Nominees: David Tennant (DI Alec Hardy, ‘Broadchurch’), Jenna Coleman (Queen Victoria, ‘Victoria’), Sheridan Smith (Julie Bushby, ‘The Moorside’), Suranne Jones (Gemma Foster, ‘Doctor Foster’) and Tom Hardy (James Keziah Delaney, ‘Taboo’)
Who should win: We’re having a tough time choosing between Sheridan Smith and Suranne Jones (as we’re sure many voters will be), but Suranne’s electrifying turn as the slightly unhinged Gemma Foster just clinches it for us.
Who will win: While Sheridan and Gemma will undoubtedly be the favourites heading into this category, we predict there could be a shock with David Tennant walking away with the trophy.
The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
Nominees: ‘All Round To Mrs Brown’s’, ‘Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway’,
‘Celebrity Juice’ and ‘The Graham Norton Show’
Who should win: After years of being the bridesmaid and never the bride, it would be great to see ‘The Graham Norton Show’ finally clinch this title, especially with the category now being named in honour of the late Bruce Forsyth.
Who will win: ‘Takeaway’ had another great series last year, so it looks set to continue its annual tradition of winning this award.
Serial Drama
Nominees: ‘Coronation Street’, ‘EastEnders’, ‘Emmerdale’ and ‘Hollyoaks’
Who should win: Despite triumphing on a number of occasions at the British Soap Awards, ‘Hollyoaks’ has never taken home the NTA for Best Soap. After a consistently good 2017, which continued to tackle some issues other soaps don’t, now is its time to shine.
Who will win: While 2017 was not a vintage year for ‘EastEnders’ by any stretch of the imagination, their dramatic Christmas episodes may be fresher in viewers’ minds and help lead it to victory.
Serial Drama Performance
Nominees: Barbara Knox (Rita Tanner, ‘Coronation Street’), Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle, ‘Emmerdale’), Lacey Turner (Stacey Fowler, ‘EastEnders’) and Lucy Fallon (Bethany Platt, ‘Coronation Street’)
Who should win: Lucy Fallon was at the centre of one of Coronation Street’s most controversial storylines ever and her performance as Bethany deserves to be rewarded.
Who will win: Having won this category three times previously (and also taken home Most Popular Actress in 2007), we’d be placing all our money on Lacey Turner.
Comedy
Nominees: ‘Benidorm’, ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’, ‘Still Open All Hours’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Who should win: ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’. ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’. ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’. ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’.
Who will win: Probably ‘Benidorm’, but did we mention it should be ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’?
Newcomer
Nominees: Danny Walters (Keanu Taylor, ‘EastEnders’), Nathan Morris (Milo Entwistle, ‘Hollyoaks’), Ned Porteous (Tom Waterhouse, ‘Emmerdale’), and Rob Mallard (Daniel Osbourne, ‘Coronation Street’)
Who should win: Ignoring the fact Ned Porteous previously played Mark Fowler Jr in ‘EastEnders’ (and therefore isn’t technically a newcomer), Tom Waterhouse - aka Joe Tate - is the best soap character on this list.
Who will win: The Joe Tate twist has probably helped secure this win for Ned.
Daytime
Nominees: ‘Loose Women’, ‘The Chase’, ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ and ‘This Morning’
Who should win: You could argue ‘This Morning’ already has its fair share of NTAs, but there’s no denying 2017 was another vintage year for the ITV show, with pooing ponies and Alison Hammond’s greatness delivering moments of TV gold.
Who will win: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield had better stock up on paracetamol now, as we’re certain they will be celebrating another win for ‘This Morning’ long into the night.
TV Judge
Nominees: David Walliams (‘Britain’s Got Talent’), Paul Hollywood (‘The Great British Bake Off’), Simon Cowell (‘Britain’s Got Talent’ / ‘The X Factor’) and will.i.am (‘The Voice UK’)
Who should win: Any female judge not nominated in this category.
Who will win: Simon Cowell is probably desperate for this after the disastrous year ‘The X Factor’ had, but David Walliams will likely pip him to the post.
To vote for in this year’s NTAs, visit www.nationaltvawards.com/vote