Alan Carr received the Special Recognition award at the National Television Awards in a surprise ceremony that included a theatrical on-stage tribute from his friends Amanda Holden and Paloma Faith.
Carr, who was unaware he was set to receive the honor, expressed his shock during his acceptance speech. He realized the performance was for him only when Faith emerged, jokingly stating he should have known when he was seated in the front row.
The tribute featured Faith being brought on stage in a coffin, followed by Carr's fellow "Celebrity Traitors" co-stars Charlotte Church, Kate Garraway, and David Olusoga. Together, they performed a rendition of Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige's "I Know Him So Well."
A notable moment from the performance involved Paloma Faith playfully shoving Charlotte Church and Amanda Holden aside to reach the front of the stage. This theatrical moment delighted viewers, who took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to describe the performance as "iconic" and "the greatest NTAs moment ever."
Amanda Holden admitted to feeling nervous about keeping the surprise from Carr, her close friend, for whom she said she tried not to call for about a week. She arrived early on the red carpet to avoid encountering him.
Following the surprise, Carr was seen playfully calling Holden a "little b***h" as they left the stage together. "This is how thick I am, it was only when Paloma came out that I realised it's me," Carr told the audience at London's O2 Arena. "I should have realised when they put me in the front row, I'm usually in the back with the people from Naked Attraction."
The evening also saw David Attenborough, in his 100th year, win the award for Best Presenter, marking the second consecutive year that Ant and Dec did not receive the honor. The presenter duo had previously held the award for a record 23 years.
Other notable wins included "Clarkson's Farm" for Reality Docuseries and "The 1% Club" for Quiz Show. "Mrs Brown's Boys" secured the Best Comedy Show award, and "Gogglebox" received the Factual Entertainment gong. Vicky McClure won Drama Performance for her role in "Trigger Point."