The National Television Awards 2022 has come around again, so it's time to celebrate all things telly and vote for your favourite stars and shows. As voting is now open for the NTAs 2022 shortlist do take a good look below on who you can vote for!
In partnership with What’s On TV magazine, the glittering ceremony will see our favourite stars and the best-loved shows of the year rewarded with the most coveted accolades around. The NTAs are unique in being the only UK TV awards ceremony where all the winners are chosen exclusively by the public via a huge nationwide poll.
There's a change of venue for the live NTAs this year. For 2022 only, the National Television Awards switches from London's O2 to take place at London's OVO Arena, Wembley. So you can watch the best on TV as they take to the famous red carpet there. The Masked Singer presenter Joel Dommett is back hosting the NTAs again in 2022. Eurovision hero Sam Ryder is opening the show too, to sing his smash hit song Space Man which came second in the international competition back in May.
Joel says: "I'm so happy to have been asked back. There's already been some terrific TV this year, so I can't wait to see which shows the viewers pick as their winners. Plus, I've always wanted to shout the immortal words 'Hello, Wembley!'..."
Get ready for the most exciting night of telly awards, with exciting new categories, exclusive live performances and surprise VIP guests. Here's everything you need to know about The National Television Awards 2022...
National Television Awards 2022 air date
The National Television Awards 2022 will now be broadcast live on ITV from Wembley Arena on Thursday October 13 from 8pm. This is a rescheduled date as the NTAs 2022 had originally been scheduled for Thursday September 15. The shows has moved due the the national mourning period after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Shortlist nominees for the The National Television Awards 2022
The NTAs shortlist of nominees for 2022 is revealed here at Whattowatch.com and in What's On TV magazine (see How To Vote for National Television Awards 2022 below). We've picked out all the shortlist nominee highlights for you here right here...
One of the biggest battles will be for the New Drama award, as hit coming-of-age Netflix saga Heartstopper goes up against Sean Bean’s prison thriller Time, Vicky McClure’s Trigger Point and Ben Whishaw’s This is Going to Hurt. Meanwhile, the Returning Drama gong is a feast of popular period classics with Bridgerton, Call The Midwife and Peaky Blinders all up for an award. Also short-listed is the last-ever series of divorce saga The Split. The Heartstopper stars Kit Connor and Joe Locke will be up against one another for the all-new Rising Star category, both facing Paddy Bever, aka Corrie’s Max Turner!
You can also pick your favourite Comedy, as After Life and Derry Girls take on the likes of Not Going Out and Sex Education. And It’s too close to call for the Drama Performance award featuring a quartet of top talent, with Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) up against Vicky McClure (Trigger Point), Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and The Split’s Nicola Walker.
There’s also tough competition for Authored Documentary award, and it’s set to get emotional, with the late pop star — The Wanted’s Tom Parker — receiving a posthumous nomination for his moving cancer story Inside My Head. Also going for this gong are Katie Price for What Harvey Did Next, Julia Bradbury, who charted her moving medical journey Breast Cancer & Me, Christine McGuinness for Our Family and Autism, and last year’s winner Kate Garraway, who gave us a family update in Caring For Derek.
Some new categories this year include a brand new Expert gong with The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, Clarkson’s Farm breakout star Kaleb Cooper, moneysaving maestro Martin Lewis all trying to pip broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough. Other awards up for grabs include Quiz Game Show, Factual Entertainment and Talent Show Judge.
As usual, it’s a big battle among the soap stars for the best Serial Drama Performance gong, with Emmerdale’s Paige Sandhu (Meena) and Mark Charnock (Marlon) going head to head with EastEnders’ stars Rose Ayling-Ellis (Frankie) and Gillian Wright, who charted Jean’s mental health storyline. As for Serial Drama, could the Neighbours cast hope to lift the trophy with the Aussie soap’s recent emotional farewell giving it some extra votes. They’ll have to beat EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale?
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Taskmaster, The Graham Norton Show and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! are all fighting it out for The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award, while The Chase and Loose Women among the shows lining up to take home the Daytime prize. Ant & Dec of course are again tipped to bag the best TV Presenter honour. The comedy duo have won for a record 20 years in a row, but if you want someone else to steal their crown you could pick either Alison Hammond, Bradley Walsh or Graham Norton.
With the voting now open, it’s all up to you! Read on below for how to vote...
Shortlisted soap nominees for the The National Television Awards 2022
As usual at the National Television Awards it’s a big battle among the soap stars for the best Serial Drama Performance gong, with Emmerdale’s Paige Sandhu (Meena) and Mark Charnock (Marlon) going head to head with EastEnders’ stars Rose Ayling-Ellis (Frankie) and Gillian Wright, who charted Jean’s mental health storyline. As for Serial Drama, could the Neighbours cast hope to lift the trophy with the Aussie soap’s recent emotional farewell giving it some extra votes. They’ll have to beat EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale?
Voting for The National TV Awards 2022
Nominees for the shortlist voting for The National Television Awards 2022 are announced see above, so you can get voting.
Voting is easy — you can vote free online at the official NTAs website nationaltvawards.com. All votes must be in by October 13 2022. You can also see our guide to the NTAs and all nominees at www.whattowatch.com. The NTA shortlist will be revealed in August when the final round of voting begins. Winners will be announced live at the ceremony on ITV on October 13 2022 (see full Terms & Conditions at www.nationaltvawards.com).
Who will be performing and appearing at the NTAs 2022?
We'll be updating here about guests and performances on the big night, so do check back... Robbie Williams had been supposed to open the show with a performance celebrating his 25 years as a solo-artist. But sadly Robbie can no longer make the new date.
There'll be another British star performance from the Wembley stage as Sam Ryder, who came second in Eurovision 2022 back in May, sings his mega hit Space Man.
Sam says: “This year instead of watching I’ll be getting up off the sofa to actually perform at the NTAs! I couldn’t be more excited to spend the evening singing my head off and celebrating the work of such amazing individuals across the television industry!”
Following a three-year break, Glasgow lad Lewis Capaldi will debut his brand new single Forget Me.
Lewis says: “Like a concerning rash appearing on your nether regions after an ill advised one night stand, I’m back and i will annoy you until you give me the attention I so crave! So excited to be playing my brand new single Forget Me at the NTAs this year, although I am still slightly worried the whole things a ploy to grill me about my TV licence. Tune in because if my song flops I’ll not be invited back!”
Interview: Joel Dommett on hosting the National Television Awards 2022 and what to expect...
Last year’s NTAs were such a fun night, did you enjoy hosting them?
Joel: "I think I kind of blacked out, because I can’t remember much of it! There’s millions of people watching on TV and the audience is full of the people who are way better at hosting than you, which is petrifying! I’ve got my foot in the door, so hopefully I can walk through that door this year and take things a little bit further. It’s going to be fun!"
Can you give us any backstage gossip from last year?
"No one was allowed backstage due to COVID last year and I was sat alone in my dressing room beforehand. Someone who works at the O2 came to get me two minutes before I went on stage and said it was the least amount of people I've ever seen in the dressing room. They’re used to having big pop stars in there with these enormous entourages! It sounds really weird, but before I go out on stage I try to imagine I'm walking in to the office on a Monday morning and it’s an everyday occurrence."
Which shows have you enjoyed this year?
"I’m pleased that Clarkson’s Farm was nominated. My family are all farmers and they love that show and I’m excited that RuPaul’s Drag Race has been nominated as well. The best moment of the year had to be the England Women winning Euro 2022 though, that was the biggest TV event of the year by far and I’m really hoping we’ll have a couple of Lionesses joining us on the night."
What’s your favourite category of the night?
"One that really touched a lot of people was the Authored Documentary category, which was new last year, but has become a really important part of the awards. The film by The Wanted singer Tom Parker, who died of a brain tumour, was so moving. My family had been through a brain tumour experience in the last couple of years (Joel’s wife’s mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour two years ago). We were lucky enough to hold on to Hannah’s mum, but it rang very true and felt very close to home."
What other categories will you be keeping an eye on?
"Returning drama is always a really strong one, especially this year as The Split and Peaky Blinders did their final series and Nicola Walker and Cillian Murphy are such big stars now. Call The Midwife will take some beating, but Bridgerton is really big in our house and my wife Hannah loves it. I’ve known Nicola Coughlan for years and she’s great as Penelope Featherington, she’s sort of come out of nowhere and suddenly become a big star. Derry Girls - which has also just had its final series - has also been nominated in the Best Comedy category, so maybe she could win a couple of awards on the night."
One of our favourites, The Great British Bake Off, is nominated for a Factual Entertainment Award. Do you think it could win again?
"I love The Bake Off and I think it’s pretty similar to The Masked Singer in a weird way, because it completely changed the game. Now there are so many shows like it, whether it’s Sewing Bee or the The Potter Throw Down or whatever. Masked Singer is very similar in the way that it's become a bit of a weird sort of cultural template. It isn't enough to be a talent show anymore, it's got to be a show that we've also got to like figure something out from it and it's nice to be a part of that."
You had a tough time during your own baking experience with The Great British Bake-Off: Stand Up To Cancer back in 2020, have you recovered yet?
"It’s so tough in that tent! It’s the same with I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, which I did in 2016, because what you see on television is such a small part of how stressful it is. I used to come home and Hannah would say it was the most tired she’d ever seen me. I’d basically fall in the door! Italso took us about three months to get through all the shortbread I made. I took it home in tupperwares and it was pretty good!"
And the Special Recognition Award goes to....
The NTAs’ coveted gold Special Recognition Award for 2022 will be presented to Sir Lenny Henry which pays tribute to his trailblazing career in UK television. From the 1970s onwards, when he first appeared on ITV talent show New Faces through to Tiswas, Three Of a Kind, his own sketch show comedy series in the 1980s and his incredible work in setting up Comic Relief, Lenny has been an incredible role model on television for decades, breaking new ground for black talent along the way. More recent projects have seen him diversify into acting, most notably on stage as Othello and in the big-budget Prime Video series Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power.
Live at the National Television Awards at Wembley, celebrity fans will be seen paying tribute to the comedian and fundraising Comic Relief frontman. Among those congratulating Sir Lenny for his achievements as a writer, campaigner, comedian and presenter will be Hollywood superstar Whoopi Goldberg, who says: “If you want to know what a superhero looks like, take a look at Sir Lenny Henry.”
You can be there — how to get tickets to the NTAs
If you'd like to head for Wembley to attend The National Television Awards on September 15 2022, tickets are on pre-sale now at nationaltvawards.com. Wembley here we come!
Our recap on what happened at the NTAs 2021?
The NTAs 2021 ceremony was hosted by The Masked Singer presenter Joel Dommett, who took over from previous host David Walliams, and is again hosting in 2022. The event saw the juggernaut that is Line of Duty scoop the coveted Special Recognition award. Few were surprised when Ant and Dec were given the best TV presenter award for the 20th time, while Gogglebox was voted the best factual show.
David Tennant won best drama performance for his incredible turn as serial killer Dennis Nilsen in ITV drama Des. Kate Garraway scooped best-authored documentary for her moving film Finding Derek, about her husband Derek Draper’s battle with Covid, while Coronation Street beat EastEnders to the title of best serial drama. Corrie’s Molly Gallagher won best serial drama performance for her turn as Nina Lucas and her hate crime storyline while Ricky Gervais was awarded best comedy for his Netflix show After Life. This Morning was crowned best daytime show while Beat The Chasers was the best quiz show game. The Great British Bake Off, It’s a Sin, I’m a Celebrity and Strictly Come Dancing also received awards.
