By Amelia Butterly
Newsbeat reporter
21 January 2015
From the section Entertainment
Coronation Street star William Roache has led a special tribute at the National TV Awards to on-screen wife Anne Kirkbride, who died on Monday.
In a speech shown on ITV, he said: “She became one of the best-loved and most enduring characters on British TV.”
“What we’ll remember the most is the vibrant, warm-hearted, loving person who came to work each day, gave us all a hug and brightened up our lives.”
EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt later paid tribute to “the Weatherfield One”.
The BBC One drama was named best serial and, when the cast went on stage to collect the award, Woodyatt, who plays Ian Beale, dedicated their prize to Coronation Street. He explained that, without the ITV show, “there would be no EastEnders”.
He then made special mention of Anne Kirkbride’s character Deirdre Barlow – drawing a standing ovation from the Corrie cast.
“If you don’t mind, we’d like to accept this for the Weatherfield One,” he added.
Surprise winners?
And this year’s winner of the best entertainment presenter was… Ant and Dec. Again.
That’s the 14th time the pair have won it – they also got top entertainment programme for I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, beating their other show, Saturday Night Takeaway.
Celebrity spotting
The red carpet attracted some of the biggest names in British and international television.
Kris Jenner, of Keeping Up With the Kardashians fame, was in attendance, as was Maisie Williams, who plays Arya in Game of Thrones.
Special recognition
A highlight of the evening included David Tennant getting the special recognition award.
Colleagues such as Billie Piper, Russell T Davies and Catherine Tate spoke about his skill as an actor
“So much of tonight now makes sense, all those people lying to me,” he said of his shock at winning the award, before dedicating it to his dad.
Teary arrival
One person whose night didn’t go quite to plan was Sheridan Smith.
Despite winning top drama performance, the star couldn’t accept her award – because she was stuck in traffic, in the back of a cab.
Backstage she was visibly emotional, saying: “I was crying at the back of the car.
“My …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
