Wednesday's National TV Awards features fantastic competiton in 12 categories including TV Judge and the new Period Drama prize
Len Goodman and Mary Berry will compete to be named best TV judge at the National Television Awards after departing from their respective shows.
Len waltzed off Strictly Come Dancing in December after 12 years as head judge while Mary opted out of the Great British Bake Off’s move from the BBC to Channel 4.
Goodman, 72, and Berry, 81, will take on The X Factor’s Nicole Scherzinger and Britain’s Got Talent’s David Walliams, as well as Simon Cowell, the boss of both reality TV shows, to be named best TV judge.
The Bake Off’s presenting duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins – who have also walked away from the series, leaving judge Paul Hollywood the only remaining member of the team – have received a nod in the TV presenter category.
But they will have to tackle reigning champions Ant and Dec in the hotly contested category: the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! hosts have won the title 15 years in a row.
Match Of The Day’s Gary Lineker is included on the shortlist in the TV presenter category after he famously introduced an episode in his underpants.
Rounding off the TV presenter shortlisted line-up is US-based The Late Late Show host James Corden and Rylan Clark-Neal, best known for fronting the companion shows for Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother and The X Factor.
The NTAs this year introduce a brand new period drama category to highlight the huge appeal of historical sagas, with ITV’s Victoria battling its BBC rival Poldark.
Call The Midwife and Peaky Blinders have also received period drama nods, along with Netflix’s 1980s-based sci-fi horror Stranger Things, which marks the first NTAs nomination for a drama series on a streaming service.
Just three programmes will compete in the talent show category, with Simon Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor going up against Strictly Come Dancing.
The live magazine show category nominees are morning TV mainstays BBC Breakfast and This Morning, as well as The One Show, Loose Women and Sunday Brunch.
Other categories at the forthcoming awards ceremony include drama, challenge show, talent show, serial drama, factual entertainment and newcomer.
Sir Ken Dodd will present the prize to the best comedy, with Benidorm and Mrs Brown’s Boys competing against US shows Orange Is The New Black and The Big Bang Theory.
Sir Ken and his famous tickling stick have been asked to present the award in recognition of his decades of work on stage and screen.
ITV will broadcast the star-studded event, presented by returning host Dermot O’Leary, live from London’s O2 Arena on Wednesday, January 25, from 7.30pm.
TV fans can vote for their winners at the official NTAs website until noon on January 25.
