Ant and Dec on stage at the NTAs during their acceptance speech talking
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Ant and Dec apologise to their wives for ‘working so much’ after NTA win

The duo won the TV presenter category for the 23rd time!

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It’s no surprise that Ant and Dec returned home with yet another NTA last night! The pair have dominated the TV presenter category for over two decades and they aren’t letting up yet!

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly graced the NTA stage yesterday, September 11, to accept their award and also shared a poignant message with their families – including an apology to their wives…

Ant and Dec on stage at the NTAs during their acceptance speech
The pair scooped up yet another award (Credit: ITV / ITVX / National Television Awards)

Ant and Dec win another NTA

The duo pipped Alison Hammond, Bradley Walsh, Claudia Winkleman and Stacey Solomon to the post in the TV presenter category last night, which they appeared to be overjoyed about.

Ant gushed: “It’s a joy, we know we’re not going to win it one night, but it’s not tonight!”

“It makes us emotional that you vote for us,” chimed in Dec.

The pair also took a moment to pay tribute to their wives, who looked on lovingly from the audience – as well as their family back home, whilst sliding in an apology to their other halves.

Declan Donnelly and his wife Ali Astall
Dec has been married to Ali since 2015 (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Ant stated: “Thank you to your lovely, beautiful wives and our lovely supportive family. Sorry we work so much, but we’ll have some time off now. Promise.”

Dec then added: “Thank you to our families up in the toon for voting as well – for being there for us!”

The pair also admitted that their lives have changed drastically in the past six years, since welcoming small children, and joked that they won’t be out partying tonight but instead will be heading home in time for the school run tomorrow.

Dec pays sweet tribute to daughter Isla

Within their sweet acceptance speech, Dec also made an adorable tribute to his daughter Isla, and thanked her for the “lucky” lip balm she had gifted him.

Showing off the tube of lip balm he kept tucked away in his tuxedo pocket, Dec explained: “My little girl Isla she said ‘good luck Daddy I hope you win the trophy, take my lip balm it may give you good luck.'”

He then exclaimed joyfully: “Isla it worked! We won!”

Declan Donnelly with his wife whilst pushing a pushchair
Dec and his wife keep their children’s identities private (Credit: Media-Mode / SplashNews.com)

He later penned to social media: “It’s hard to find the words to express how grateful we are to everyone that took the time to vote for us again this year. We are truly humbled.

“‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem to be enough but it says it all. Isla is gonna be thrilled she owns, what is officially, a lucky lip balm.”

Ant and Dec’s 23rd win comes after the conclusion of their popular programme, Saturday Night Takeaway.

After 20 series, the presenters bid farewell to their popular weekend show. However, this latest win proves they go down just as well with viewers!

Ant McPartlin and his wife Anne-Marie on their wedding day
Ant and Anne-Marie recently welcomed their first child together (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Ant and Dec go on TV hiatus

Recent reports have confirmed the reason for the pair’s telly hiatus, with Ant telling Fault magazine: “On a more personal level, part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family. We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit. We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now.”

He went on to say: “You know, like I say, ‘We’re turning 49, and what do we want to do next? What’s the next phase of our career?’ And we’ve got lots of ideas and lots of offers on the table, lots of options of things we can do. But it’s working on what we do next and where the next chapter begins. So that’s what we’re gonna do when Saturday Night Takeaway is out of the way. We’ll sit down, take a bit of time, and reevaluate everything.”

Read now: NTAs viewers ‘work out’ Bradley Walsh’s foul-mouthed reaction to Ant and Dec’s win

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Emily Towers
TV & Showbiz Writer
Emily loves to write about the latest trending news, whether it’s reality TV chaos or Royal drama. She also has a passion for translating editorial content into share-worthy social media posts after spending two years as a social media manager and marketing executive.