It’s down to you to choose which TV shows and stars will win at this year’s National Television Awards on September 8…

Television’s biggest stars will be rolling out the glamour at London’s O2 Arena as the NTAs return live on Tuesday September 8. Expect dazzling gowns, sharp tuxedos and plenty of unforgettable moments as Joel Dommett once again hosts the glittering celebration of the nation’s favourite TV shows and stars. Proud NTAs partner What’s On TV is giving our readers an exclusive early look at some of the standout names on the long-list of nominees well ahead of the big night so you have the chance to get voting now. Every winner is decided by viewers, so the power is entirely in your hands!

This year we’ve been spoiled by some gripping dramas, so the New Drama award will be one of the night’s biggest battles, with A Woman Of Substance, Death Valley, The Other Bennet Sister, The Girlfriend, The War Between the Land & The Sea and Riot Women all vying against each other.

Meanwhile, the Returning Drama gong sees a slew of binge-watchable shows up for a gong, including Blue Lights, Grace, Death In Paradise, Call The Midwife, Shetland and The Night Manager. The top actors long-listed Drama Performance include Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Holliday Grainger (The Capture), Sheridan Smith (The Cage) and Ruth Jones (The Other Bennet Sister), so it really is hard to pick a favourite!

It’s also been a bumper year for reality shows, with The Celebrity Traitors gaining a massive audience last October as mega-Traitor Alan Carr swept through the Faithfuls, but it will battling for votes with Love Island, The Apprentice and Race Across The World.

Sir David Attenborough marks his centenary year by scoring a rare ‘fivesome’ in the Factual Entertainment category, with Secret Garden, Parenthood, Kingdom, Wild London and A Gorilla Story all up for gongs. More heartfelt and inspiring stories compete for the Authored Documentary award with moving tributes in Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth and Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home.

There’s plenty of family fun leads for the Comedy gong, with Amandaland, Here We Go and Changing Ends all strong contenders.

The headline-hitting soap event of the year was of course January’s huge crossover episode Corriedale, so will either Coronation Street or Emmerdale take home the coveted Serial Drama accolade? Title holders EastEnders could give them a run for their soap money! Among the soap actors in line for the Serial Drama Performance are Paul Bradley (EastEnders), Joshua Richards (Emmerdale) and Sue Davaney (Corrie) plus Casualty stars Milo Clarke, William Beck and Melanie Hill.

Last year saw a major NTAs surprise as Gary Lineker finally broke Ant and Dec's 23-year winning streak for TV Presenter. Can the Geordie duo grab back their crown? Or could this be the year for Alison Hammond, Claudia Winkleman, Alan Carr, Bradley Walsh or Joel Dommett?

With the voting now open, it’s up to you to choose!

How to vote in the National Television Awards 2026!

Voting in the National Television Awards 2026! is easy as you can vote free online at nationaltvawards.com. All votes must be in by 11pm on Friday May 29 2026. The NTA shortlist will be revealed here in What’s On TV in August when the final round of voting begins. Winners will be announced live at the ceremony on ITV on 8 September 2026 (see full Terms & Conditions and Privacy Notice at nationaltvawards.com).

You can be at the National Television Awards 2026!!

Join host Joel Dommett and hundreds of your favourite telly stars for a night to remember on 8 September 2026 at London’s O2 by visiting nationaltvawards.com for tickets.

The National Television Awards 2021, in partnership with us at What's On TV magazine, is giving our favourite TV stars the chance to line the red carpet in their best get-up to celebrate all things telly for the first time since the pandemic started. The NTAs 2021 is live on ITV from London’s 02 Arena on Thursday September 9 and The Masked Singer/Masked Dancer star Joel Dommett is hosting the glittering evening for the first time.

Joel told us: "It's a huge honour to be hosting the NTAs this year! It still feels like someone has made a wonderful error. I really really love TV and I can't wait to celebrate the best stuff from what's been a very weird year or so. I'm also really hoping The Masked Singer wins something so I can present an award to myself. That's a creative narcissist's DREAM!

"I’m really excited! It’s a huge night for TV, because there will be so many people in that room that won't have seen each other for a really long time. It’s going to be amazing to see an arena full of people again and it’s going to be a real celebration of the last two years of TV."

The NTAs Executive Producer, Kim Turberville, added: "We are so excited to be back to celebrate a remarkable TV year like no other. There is a wealth of great television to recognise and we are delighted to have Joel Dommett at the helm. With his wit and natural charisma, he'll definitely be bringing a fresh approach to this year's awards." 

As well as all the awards being handed out by some special guests there are some performances on the night, including by JLS (scroll below for details). 

National Television Awards 2021 air date

The National Television Awards 2021 is screened live on ITV from London’s 02 Arena on Thursday 9 September at 7.30pm.

National Television Awards 2021 — voting for shortlist nominees

Voting for The National Television Awards 2021 shortlist nominees is now over. Check out all the NTAs shortlist nominees and highlights are given below. Also check The National Television Awards 2021 website nationaltvawards.com for details. Winners of the NTAs 2021 will be given their awards at the ceremony live on ITV on Thursday September 9 2021. 

You can vote free online at www.nationaltvawards.com or you can vote by phone 0905 647 2021. Calls cost 25p per minute, plus your network access charge, and should last no longer than seven minutes. Votes must be in by Noon on Thursday September 9 2021. All new votes will be added to those already submitted in the first round of voting, and the results will be revealed at the NTA ceremony, live on ITV from The O2 London on Thursday 9 September 2021.Second-stage voting closes at noon on Thursday 9 September 2021. Votes received after this time will not be counted, but if voting by phone you may still be charged. Please ensure you have the bill payer’s permission before calling. Restrictions on multiple voting apply. For full terms and conditions and privacy policy, see nationaltvawards.com.

National Television Awards 2021 — the shortlist nominees highlights

The National Television Awards 2021 is almost here, so here's our rundown of some of the NTAs 2021 shortlist nominees you can vote for, with Joel Dommett giving us an exclusive chat on his thoughts.

One of the biggest battles will see three Line of Duty co-stars – Adrian Dunbar, Martin Compston and Vicky McClure – go up against each other for Drama Performance, but they’ll face  David Tennant for his serial killer drama Des, and Olly Alexander for Channel 4’s It’s A Sin, who both won critical acclaim for their outstanding performances. Meanwhile, New Drama, has both Des and It’s A Sin, against Netflix blockbuster Bridgerton, and BBC3's Normal People.

"Line of Duty stars Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston have all been nominated which is really well deserved," Joel Dommett told us. "They’re up against David Tennant [Des] and Olly Alexander, who was brilliant in It’s A Sin. Even if I wasn’t supposed to be impartial, I couldn’t pick a winner!"

"It’s A Sin was one of the best things I’ve watched in my life, but Normal People will always hold a special place in my heart as it almost defined that first lockdown. There was so much doom and gloom, but everyone latched on to that amazing story." 

It’s an all-out battle for the Returning Drama category, too, as Line of Duty, The Crown, Call The Midwife and take on Unforgotten. 

There are still plenty of other telly favourites up for an NTA gong, including Sex Education, Friday Night Dinner, The Vicar of Dibley and After Life all fighting it out for the Comedy award, while Britain's Got Talent and Strictly Come Dancing are up against The Masked Singer and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK for Talent Show.

England striker Marcus Rashford may have lost out at the Euros, but he’s still in for a chance of an award in the NTA’s newest (and most emotional) category, Authored Documentary, with his inspiring show Feeding Britain’s Children. He’s against Good Morning Britain’s Kate Garraway, who allowed us to see how COVID-19 affected her husband in Finding Derek, and Roman Kemp, who opened up about male suicide in Our Silent Emergency. 

Might this be Holly Willoughby’s year to steal Ant and Dec’s TV Presenter crown? The comedy duo have won for a record 19 years, but there’s stiff competition for Holly, with Bradley Walsh, Piers Morgan and Alison Hammond up for the gong. 

There are plenty of other telly favourites hoping for an NTA trophy too, including Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Taskmaster, The Graham Norton Show and I’m a Celebrity… all fighting to win The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award.

The Masked Singer has been nominated in the Best Talent Show category, so does Joel  think it could win? 

"The Masked Singer was the perfect show for lockdown because we were all stuck inside and needed something to lift our spirits. It would be amazing if the show won, but it’s been a great year for Britain’s Got Talent, Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK and Strictly."

* See below for the full list of NTAs shortlist nominees.

A brand new category for The National Television Awards 2021…

Some of TV’s most famous faces got personal this past year, so the NTA’s newest category, Authored Documentary, recognizes a year of heart-breaking, headline-making films from the likes of GMB’s Kate Garraway who allowed us to see how the pandemic affected her family in Finding Derek, England football hero Marcus Rashford showing how he spearheaded a national campaign in Feeding Britain’s Children, while Roman Kemp investigated male suicide in Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency. Other shows in this category include Rob Burrow: My Year With MND and Katie Price: Harvey and Me.

Shortlisted soap nominees at the National Television Awards 2021…

As usual, soaps battle is set to be as intense as ever. Emmerdale has won Serial Drama four years in a row but can they beat off Corrie, EastEnders and Hollyoaks? 

The Serial Drama Performance category is strong too, as it includes soaps favourite Danny Dyer from EastEnders, Mollie Gallagher and Sally Carman as Abi Franklin in Coronation Street, plus Billy Price in Hollyoaks. 

The soaps are also fighting it out in for the Best Newcomer gong with Emmerdale star Emile John (aka Ethan), Corrie’s Jude Riordan (Sam) and EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis (Frankie) all in with a shout.

National Television Awards 2021 — all the shortlist nominees you can vote for in every category

Challenge Show
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins
Love Island
The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Sewing Bee

New Drama
Bridgerton
Des
It’s A Sin
Normal People 

Talent Show
Britain’s Got Talent
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK
Strictly Come Dancing
The Masked Singer

Authored Documentary
Kate Garraway: Finding Derek
Katie Price: Harvey and Me
Marcus Rashford: Feeding Britain’s Children
Rob Burrow: My Year With MND
Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency

Returning Drama
Call The Midwife
Line of Duty
The Crown
Unforgotten

TV Presenter
Alison Hammond
Ant and Dec
Bradley Walsh
Holly Willoughby
Piers Morgan

Factual
Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death
Gogglebox
Gordon, Gino and Fred: American Road Trip
Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs

Drama Performance
Adrian Dunbar, Ted Hastings, Line of Duty
David Tennant, Dennis Nilsen, Des
Martin Compston, Steve Arnott, Line of Duty
Olly Alexander, Ritchie Tozer, It’s A Sin
Vicky McClure, Kate Fleming, Line of Duty

The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
Taskmaster
The Graham Norton Show

Serial Drama
Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Hollyoaks

Serial Drama Performance
Billy Price, Sid Sumner, Hollyoaks
Danny Dyer, Mick Carter, EastEnders
Mollie Gallagher, Nina Lucas, Coronation Street
Sally Carman, Abi Franklin, Coronation Street

Quiz Game Show
Beat the Chasers
Celebrity Catchphrase
In For A Penny
Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel

Newcomer
Emile John, Ethan Anderson, Emmerdale
Jude Riordan, Sam Blakeman, Coronation Street
Olivia D’Lima, Paramedic Fenisha Khatri, Casualty
Rhiannon Clements, Summer Ranger, Hollyoaks
Rose Ayling-Ellis, Frankie Lewis, EastEnders

Daytime
Loose Women
The Chase
The Repair Shop
This Morning

Comedy
After Life
Friday Night Dinner
Sex Education 
The Vicar of Dibley

JLS will perform at the NTAs 2021...

Boyband JLS will be performing their brand new single Eternal Love at this year’s National Television Awards live on September 9. It's their first single in eight years so fans of the band who hit fame on The X Factor, will be eagerly awaiting the performance. The boys — Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, JB Gill and Oritse Williams — will also be belting out of some of their classic hits on the night.

National Television Awards 2021 — how to get tickets

Join host Joel Dommett and hundreds of stars at the dazzling star-studded event on Thursday 9 September 2021 at The O2 London by going to nationaltvawards.com to book tickets. Go to: www.nationaltvawards.com/tickets

National Television Awards 2021 host Joel Dommett — a quick guide

At 19 Joel moved from Gloucestershire to London in search of fame as a stand-up comedian. But his big telly break came in 2010 with a recurring role as DC Sweeney in E4’s Skins (currently on Netflix) before he landed a slot on Nicole Scherzinger’s team on Sky1’s 2015 panel show Bring The Noise. That led to a stint on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! in 2016, where he came second behind Scarlett Moffatt. 

In 2019 Joel was announced as the presenter of ITV’s The Masked Singer, for the show's UK launch. The show became a huge hit when it began airing in January 2020, with 10.5 million turning in to its series two finale. In the year after he started presenting the show, Joel appeared on 23 programmes across six channels, and he’s all set to host the equally bonkers The Masked Singer spin-off, The Masked Dancer, which kicks off on ITV on Saturday 29 May.

REVEALED! Nine behind-the-scenes secrets of... The NTAs!