PIERS MORGAN wasn't best pleased after failing to win Best Presenter of the Year at the 2021 National Television Awards on Thursday night.
The gong went to Ant & Dec for - incredibly - the 20th consecutive year (that's right, they've won the award every single year since 2001!) after pipping Morgan, Bradley Walsh, Alison Hammond and Holly Willoughby to the award.
Morgan, who enjoyed a highly successful stint as host of Good Morning Britain (GMB) until his resignation in March in the wake of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, took to Twitter to air his frustration.
He sarcastically praised Ant & Dec for giving I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! contestants a decent grilling over their handling of the Covid-19 crisis - pointing to the work he and fellow GMB host Susanna Reid did in cross-examining UK government officials throughout the pandemic.
"Wow! What a shock! Congrats to Ant & Dec," he tweeted moments after the winner was announced.
"Thoroughly deserved 20th consecutive win - the way they held those jungle contestants to account during the pandemic was absolutely brilliant."
Wow! What a shock! Congrats to Ant & Dec. Thoroughly deserved 20th consecutive win - the way they held those jungle contestants to account during the pandemic was absolutely brilliant. 👏#ntas
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 9, 2021
The award is voted for by the British public, and as a rather divisive figure, Morgan probably stood little chance against the universally popular Saturday Night Takeaway hosts, no matter his body of work over the past 12 months.
Accepting the award, Ant & Dec revealed how grateful they were to be honoured 20 years running.
"Thank you very, very much indeed. We were talking in the car on the way here and the first year we won an award, Tony Blair was the Prime Minister and Newcastle qualified for the Champion’s League," Ant said before admitting: "This one means the most."
Dec added: "It’s pretty overwhelming to be honest with you. When you get to 20, you can’t help but look at the first time you got one in 2001…one thing that hasn’t changed is how unbelievably grateful we are that you take the time to vote for us and put us up here.
"We’ve got the best jobs on telly. Please keep watching the shows because we love making them."
