Vernon Kay and Tess Daly united at awards

Vernon Kay and Tess Daly united at awards
Vernon Kay and Tess Daly united at awards (Image credit: PA)

Vernon Kay and Tess Daly hosted a Prince's Trust award ceremony as they made their first official appearance together since the texting controversy. The All Star Family Fortunes presenter shared the podium with his wife, Strictly Come Dancing host Tess, as the achievements of young people who have turned their lives around were celebrated. Vernon, who has two young daughters with his partner, has admitted sending explicit text messages to around five women. He told the listeners of his Radio 1 show last month he had been 'foolish and stupid'. Without referring directly to the texts, he said at the time he had 'disappointed and let down a lot of people', adding: "To my family and everybody else, I am very sorry." The couple, who are both Trust ambassadors, looked relaxed as they introduced the seven award categories and the celebrity guests who announced the nominees. Tess described those put forward for the honours as 'real heroes' and stood with her husband throughout the Prince's Trust Celebrate Success awards staged at the Odeon cinema in London's Leicester Square. At the start of the ceremony, attended by a host of stars including Sir Michael Caine, Bond girl Gemma Arterton and comedian Michael McIntyre, Vernon told the audience: "We are so very excited to be here with you all today, it's such a treat to have an afternoon out." But during the event no reference was made to the texting controversy.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.