Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby have been recognised in the National Television Awards longlist for best TV presenter, while This Morning is up for the daytime prize. Veteran broadcaster Schofield announced he was stepping down from presenting the ITV talk show with “immediate effect” after more than 20 years on the programme over the weekend.
Willoughby, who has hosted alongside Schofield since 2009, will remain on the show but has taken early half-term holiday leave, with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary continuing to fill in for the pair on Tuesday. Days after his exit, it was announced both Schofield and Willoughby are among 50 names longlisted for the NTA presenter prize, alongside their fellow This Morning presenters Hammond, O’Leary and Rylan Clark.
The news came as Alison Hammond emerged as new favourite to take over from Phil on This Morning. According to Betway the top five attracting gamblers are
Alison Hammond - 6/4
Dermot O’Leary - 11/4
Josie Gibson - 7/1
Rylan Clark-Neal - 9/1
Gino D’Acampo - 10/1
On Saturday, Schofield announced he was stepping down from presenting the ITV talk show with “immediate effect” after more than 20 years on the programme.
Holly Willoughby, who has hosted alongside Schofield since 2009, will remain on the show but she is taking early half-term holiday leave, with Hammond and O’Leary filling in on Monday. Schofield, who also shared the news in a post to his Instagram story, said in a statement: “I have always been proud to cover fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.
“Throughout my career in TV – including the very difficult last few days – I have always done my best to be honourable and kind. I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.
“So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me – especially This Morning’s amazing viewers – and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.”
Holly and Phil are joined in the category by NTA powerhouses Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who took home the award for the 21st year in a row during last year’s ceremony. This Morning has also been longlisted in the daytime category after winning the award last year, competing alongside shows including Good Morning Britain, Loose Women and Lorraine.
The NTA longlist also saw Dame Deborah James and Paul O’Grady posthumously recognised. Dame Deborah, who set up the Bowelbabe cancer research fund and died last year at the age of 40 after suffering from bowel cancer, was named in the category of authored documentary. Bowelbabe In Her Own Words was listed alongside other hard-hitting documentaries including The Real Mo Farah, which shed fresh light on the Olympic athlete’s early years, and Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now.
Meanwhile, O’Grady’s For The Love Of Dogs was listed in the factual entertainment category following the death of the TV presenter and comedian earlier this year.
The programme was joined in the category by Jay Blades’ The Repair Shop and The Martin Lewis Money Show Live. Also included in the category were sporting programmes Save Our Squad with David Beckham, and Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Welcome To Wrexham series.
The Hollywood stars have won wide acclaim for their investment and support of the club, as well as their efforts to promote Welsh language and culture. Eurovision is also longlisted for the Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award, as are two shows presented by McPartlin and Donnelly – I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Saturday Night Takeaway.
It comes as the duo announced they would be taking a break from the latter show following its 20th series in 2024. Also longlisted in the category is the The Coronation Concert and US reality show The Kardashians.
In the NTA new drama category, Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters takes on popular HBO zombie-thriller The Last Of Us and Game Of Thrones prequel House Of The Dragon. Horgan is also longlisted in the drama performance category for her role of Eva Garvey in the show, alongside Happy Valley stars Sarah Lancashire and James Norton.
Jeremy Paxman’s farewell series of University Challenge competes in the quiz game show category, alongside more recent hits such as The 1% Club, Bridge Of Lies and In With A Shout. Paxman has stepped down from the role of question master after 28 years and is due to be replaced by Amol Rajan.
The 2023 NTA talent show category sees the return of popular ontenders Britain’s Got Talent, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and Strictly Come Dancing.
The 28th annual ceremony will also feature two new categories of reality competition and TV interview. Voting for the NTAs is open now, and will close at 11pm on Friday June 2 2023.
The NTA shortlists will be revealed in August when the final round of voting begins. Winners will be announced at the star-studded ceremony on ITV on September 5 2023, with host Joel Dommett returning to lead the celebrations at London’s OVO Arena, Wembley.
