Vogue Williams and Olivia Attwood led a parade of British television stars on the red carpet at the National Television Awards at The O2 in London as the ceremony celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Williams, 39, arrived in a slinky black gown with a plunging neckline and flowing train, while Loose Women presenter Olivia Attwood, 34, opted for an off-the-shoulder white dress with long sleeves and an elegant updo. Other arrivals included Ashley James in a black, sparkly mini dress with pearl embellishment and Davina McCall, who posed for selfies in a gold glittering mini dress.
Best pals Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks arrived together, Thompson in a navy suit and Wicks in black; the pair posed for cameras with Thompson giving Wicks a kiss on the cheek. The NTAs, established in 1995 to give the public a voice in recognising television talent, are billed as a celebration of the nation's most loved shows and stars and continue to be decided by public vote.
This year’s ceremony features high-profile competitions across multiple categories. Ant and Dec are widely tipped to win the TV Presenter award for a 24th consecutive year, facing nominees Claudia Winkleman, Gary Lineker, Alison Hammond and Stacey Solomon. The long-running I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! is among contenders for Best Reality, alongside Love Island, Race Across the World and The Traitors.
Drama categories reflect a strong year for scripted television. Netflix’s Adolescence, praised for Owen Cooper’s performance as Jamie Miller, is among the nominees in the New Drama field and is competing with Code of Silence, Ludwig, MobLand and Rivals. UK serial dramas are also prominent: Coronation Street and Emmerdale have seen renewed audience engagement after being added to ITVX in October, allowing viewers on-demand access; they and Casualty, EastEnders and Hollyoaks are all nominated in the Serial Drama category.
Comedy nominations include Gavin & Stacey, Brassic, Michael McIntyre's 25th Year Stand-Up Special and Mrs Brown's Boys. The ceremony is being broadcast live on ITV2 with awards interspersed among entertainment performances through the evening.
While the NTAs drew Britain’s television stars, in Malibu cameras captured Brad Pitt as he returned to his role as Cliff Booth in the follow-up to Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Onlookers photographed the 61-year-old actor appearing to pick his teeth while filming on a balcony during a weekend shoot.
Pitt was in costume for the late-1970s-set project, wearing a midnight-blue track jacket, jeans and aviator sunglasses and sporting the long, beachy hair associated with the Cliff Booth character. The new film—described on IMDb as The Adventures of Cliff Booth—has been positioned by Pitt and others as an "episode" focusing on Booth rather than a direct sequel; David Fincher is directing after Tarantino wrote the project but did not take the director’s chair. The production is for Netflix and features Timothy Olyphant, Elizabeth Debicki, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, Scott Caan and JB Tadena in reported cast lists. Leonardo DiCaprio’s name does not appear on credits posted to IMDb for the project.
Pitt won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Cliff Booth in the 2019 original and has said the current project expands the character’s backstory. The recent Malibu filming came as Pitt continues to grieve the loss of his mother, Jane Etta Pitt, who died at age 84 last month; photographs of the actor on set emerged roughly two weeks after her passing.
The NTAs ceremony and the high-profile on-set images of Pitt underscore the wide scope of celebrity coverage this weekend, from live televised awards in London to film production activity in California.