Stars have paid tribute to the late all-round entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth at the first National Television Awards since his death.
The awards remembered the former presenter, singer, dancer and gameshow host as Ant and Dec took home the first prize in his memory for their Saturday Night Takeaway show.
Presenting the award, Sir Bruce’s 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 Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award goes to Ant & Dec for Saturday Night Takeaway pic.twitter.com/0DccHu4iwV
— National TV Awards (@OfficialNTAs) January 23, 2018
Earlier Paul O’Grady had led tributes to the TV favourite who he had enjoyed a good friendship with.
He told the Press Association on the red carpet: “He was a lovely man, I was very, very fond of him.
“He was a turn, he was an all-round entertainer, he was a smashing bloke and a laugh.”
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! duo Iain Lee and Shappi Khorsandi echoed O’Grady’s words with the latter describing Sir Bruce as her “childhood”.
Lee added: “When I was a kid he was there – he was a constant. He made it look really, really easy and that was his skill, making it appear really easy to be natural and confident and calm and silly on TV and it’s not, it’s a real skill.
“Ant and Dec have got it but Brucey was the best,” Lee added.
Comedian Joel Dommett said: “What an incredible human being and to get anything close to that longevity in television, it’s madness and it’s a testament to how wonderful he was as a person and an entertainer.
“He did it all, sing, dance, present, a lot of strings to a wonderful bow.”