What to watch
The National Television Awards 2018
ITV, 7.30PM
Forget about the Baftas. These awards, ITV has boldly claimed since the inception of the National Television Awards 23 years ago, is the biggest night of the year for British TV. It certainly pulls in the viewers – who, after all, vote for the winners – though the more serious and hard-hitting factual genres are left out in favour of light-hearted entertainment and gripping drama.
For the ninth year in a row, Dermot O’leary introduces the runners and riders from London’s O2 Arena. The categories include Serial Drama, Challenge Show (The Great British Bake Off vs Love Island should make an intriguing contest) and TV Drama Performance (a battle royale between Tom Hardy, David Tennant, Sheridan Smith, Jenna Coleman and Suranne Jones) as well as a couple of new prizes: Crime Drama (in which Broadchurch takes on Sherlock, Little Boy Blue and Line of Duty) and the
Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award, featuring Graham Norton, Mrs Brown, Keith Lemon and, inevitably, Ant and Dec. It tends to celebrate “best loved” rather than “best”, but it’s a cheerful demonstration and celebration of the British public’s favourite TV. Gabriel Tate