Anneka was a vision in glittery red as she took to the stage to present the award (Picture: ITV)
Anneka Rice sparked confusion at the National Television Awards when she appeared to announce the wrong winner on stage, before quickly rectifying the situation in a smooth fashion.
Last night, Ant and Dec, This Morning and Kate Garraway walked away with some of the biggest accolades of the event, as the stars descended upon Wembley Arena for the glitzy award ceremony.
At one point, comedian Joel Dommett – who was host for the evening – explained that he had tasked the star of Challenge Anneka to jet to the stage to present an award in just three minutes, ahead of the return of the Channel 5 programme next year.
It was therefore up to Anneka, 64, to declare which show had won the award for best quiz game show – but there was a moment of puzzlement on stage as she took the microphone and read from the envelope in front of her.
As Anneka turned to the audience, she looked at the envelope before exclaiming: ‘The 1% Club!’
However, as members of the audience began cheering, she quickly added: ‘No!’, making it clear that The 1% Club hadn’t actually won the award.
The presenter was joined by her Challenge Anneka soundman Dave Chapman on stage (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock for NTA)
Anneka proceeded to list off the rest of the nominees on the card – which also included Beat The Chasers, Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and In For A Penny – before revealing that the winners were actually Beat The Chasers.
Bradley Walsh looked perplexed as the camera fixated on him, before he joined the rest of the Beat The Chasers team on stage.
Meanwhile, Chaser Jenny Ryan quipped that she’d beaten Bradley to the mic for the first time as the people behind the popular quizzing programme accepted the recognition.
Bradley looked taken aback when he realised Beat The Chasers had won (Picture: ITV)
Several people watching the ITV broadcast at home were also left in a state of befuddlement by the situation, as one tweeted: ‘Anneka Rice you had one job!!’
‘#NTAs well Anneka Rice, that was certainly a challenge!! #confusing,’ someone else wrote.
However, many people showered Anneka with praise and expressed how much they enjoyed seeing her back on their TV screens.
‘@AnnekaRice how good does she look not aged a day. Great to see “The Sound Man”,’ one person wrote, referring to Anneka being joined on stage by the soundman, Dave Chapman, who also starred on Challenge Anneka with her.
‘How does Anneka Rice look exactly the same as when I was a child??? #NTAs she is amazing,’ another said.
The 2022 National Television Awards are available to watch on ITV Hub.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
The presenter quickly smoothed the situation over.
