Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were missing this evening as they were awarded their 21st NTA for best presenter.
Stepping up to accept their award was Stephen Mulhern with a piece of paper they had written their acceptance speech on.
However, Stephen ended up tearing the speech up as he joked that he would be stealing the award himself.
"They gave me some words," he said. "But I'm not going to accept that drivel!"
They had also been competing against Alison Hammond, Bradley Walsh and Graham Norton in the category.
The pair were sadly absent from night's show after contracting Covid, so have been forced to pull out of all of their TV commitments (including BGT).
Ahead of this evening's event, they said that they were "so sorry" that they wouldn't be able to attend and shared a photo of their positive tests on their Instagram page.
Sharing the snap on their Insta Story, the pair wrote: "After feeling unwell a few days ago we both tested and we're positive for Covid...
"We're resting up at home and are so sorry we can't be at the @officialntas... Best of luck everyone... and get well soon to anyone else in the same boat."
It comes after a BGT spokesperson confirmed that Ant and Dec had been forced to pull out of two-hour special Britain's Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician, which brings together the world’s most memorable and greatest magicians from past series to compete and become the ultimate champion and win £50,000.
They told TVZone : "Ant and Dec are both unwell and have postponed all work commitments until they recover.
"Sadly, this means they were unable to film Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician. Whilst we wish them a speedy recovery, we are thrilled to confirm that BGT’s favourite magician, Stephen Mulhern has stepped in."
At the reigns of tonight's 27th NTAs was comedian Joel Dommett, who hosted live from the OVO Arena in Wembley.
Vicky McClure, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Gillian Wright were among those competing for an elusive gong, while Strictly, Britain's Got Talent and The Masked Singer battled it out for Best Talent Show.
*National Television Awards are available to watch on ITV Hub
