Emotional awards night for Ant as duo triumph
widow, Lady Wilnelia Forsyth, said she was “proud and honoured that this special award is named after my darling Bruce”.
She added: “I know he would have loved it because showbusiness was his life.”
The big success of the evening for the presenting pair was being rewarded with the TV Presenter Award for the 17th year running.
Returning to the stage, Ant – who recently announced he is to divorce wife Lisa after 11 years – said: “It’s been a very emotional night tonight. It’s been quite a year, been quite a tough 12 months, so winning this tonight really means a lot.
“I would personally like to thank all my family, all my friends. Some are here tonight. I love you. Thank you very much. Thank you to all of you for your support.
“It really, really means the world to me. It’s helped me get through it.”
Addressing Dec at the ceremony, Ant said: “Thanks to you, little guy.”
The pair’s first prize of the evening was the Challenge Show award for their ITV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
Ant and Dec arrived at the event with just minutes to spare and nearly missed their victory speech for the Challenge Show award after getting caught in traffic. Speaking in the winners’ room after the ceremony, Ant added: “It’s been a tough year for me personally and quite an emotional night. So to kind of top it off with three awards has been... can I have a lie down now? I love working with him [Dec] and that was the one thing.
“I had a very tough summer last summer – I had to face up to a lot of things – and my one thing was just getting back to work and getting back to work with my best mate. We did it.”