National Television Awards viewers believe they picked up on a subtle Queue-gate joke Sir Lenny Henry made during his acceptance speech.
The comedian was honoured for his almost 50-year career and presented with the special recognition award during the prestigious ceremony at the OVO Arena Wembley arena in London.
As Sir Lenny took to the stage to accept the award to a standing ovation from the star-studded audience, the comedian made an apparent reference to the Queue furore surrounding This Morning ’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after allegations they skipped the queue to see the Queen lying in state.
Holly and Phillip addressed the row in a pre-recorded statement on This Morning, insisting they would ‘never jump a queue’, explaining they had media accreditation.
Yet the duo were compared to celebrities including David Beckham and Susanna Reid, who queued for hours to see the Queen lying in state.
Referring to former footballer David, who waited for 13 hours with other members of the public to pay his respects to the late monarch, Sir Lenny said: “This show is so long that David Beckham is still queueing outside.”
ITV viewers were quick to pick up on the mention, with one taking to Twitter to write: “Classic Lenny Henry in the presence of Phil & Holly, David Beckham is still queuing outside.”
A second chimed: “The cameraman trying not to film Phil and Holly when Lenny Henry made that queue joke.”
“Was Lenny Henry having a pop at Holly & Phil queuing up by referencing David Beckham,” another asked.
NTA organisers said Sir Lenny’s gong marked his ‘trailblazing career in UK television’ as the Brummie star was celebrated for his services to TV and charity.
He said after collecting his gong: “To actually be acknowledged by one's peers in a moment like this was huge because awards are a conversation you have with you. Of the people that you work with.
“My mum always said that I was blessed... I never had a Plan B. So to just stop being a welder and an engineer and to go straight into doing this, when I was 16, was a massive step because we came from poverty.
“Our house had a hairline crack down the middle of it, which we used to go through instead of the front door.
“So I just wanted to make sure that people understood that if you're black in the Midlands in the 70s, this isn't where you think you're going.
“So to everybody in this room, to everybody who kind of said Lenny should get something... I can barely speak.”
