Given how long we’ve all had to forego large-scale social occasions in the past 18 months, it was no surprise to see so many stars out in force on Thursday night for the National Television Awards.
Now in its 26th year, the NTAs moved from its usual January slot to April as a result of the pandemic, before being bumped a further five months to September.
After what eventually became an 18-month break, the night finally arrived on Thursday, with some of the best TV stars from the last year (and a bit) all descending on London’s O2 Arena for the A-list event.
But as any devotee of all things celeb will tell you – before any ceremony gets going, there’s the red carpet to look forward to.
This year, it wasn’t exactly a shock to discover Line Of Duty racking up plenty of nominations, with the police drama bagging a nomination in the Returning Drama category.
Cast members Adrian Dunbar, Stephen Compston and Vicky McClure also received recognition for their roles in the Drama Performance category, opposite Olly Alexander and David Tennant for It’s A Sin and Des, respectively.
All the usual suspects are also in the running, with representatives for shows like This Morning, Loose Women, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent all putting in an appearance.
Meanwhile, Ant and Dec are up for Best Presenter which – if they win – will be their 20th time receiving the distinction.
They do have some stiff competition in 2021, though, not just from Holly Willoughby, Alison Hammond and Bradley Walsh but Piers Morgan, who’s been responsible for some of the past year’s most divisive (and complained-about) television moments.
Check out all the snaps from this year’s NTAs red carpet in the gallery below: