Strictly Come Dancing unable to attend the National Television Awards

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

Collecting a gong at the prestigious National Television Awards could be the most positive moment for Strictly Come Dancing this year after a string of scandals.
But the cast and crew are unable to attend the ceremony held at the O2 next month because they will be busy filming their pre-recorded launch show on September 10.
Instead, the Daily Mail can reveal the Beeb are planning on sending this year's winner and first ever blind contestant, Chris McCausland, to accept an award if its flagship Saturday night show wins.
It will come as a blow for the 20 professional dancers who relish the moment they can receive an award for their hard work - Strictly has won Best Talent Show at the NTAs a record breaking 10 times.
Despite battling a string of controversies this year, including Wynne Evan's controversial departure and claims two of its stars had used cocaine while on the show, Strictly received three gongs.
The first being for Talent Show while host Claudia Winkleman is also recognised for her work on The Traitors, landed a nod in the Presenter category, while professional dancer Amy Dowden is up for Authored Documentary for her moving film depicting her battle with breast cancer.
Strictly host Claudia Winkleman landed a nod in the Presenter category, while pro dancer Amy Dowden is up for Authored Documentary for her film depicting her battle with breast cancer
Last year the flagship show won the prize for Talent Show and hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman were joined on stage by the professionals in celebration to collect the gong.
It came after a year accusations of abuse aimed at professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima but the BBC show beat out Britain's Got Talent, The Great British Bake Off, MasterChef and The Voice to take one of the night's big prizes.
The nominations no doubt mean more to BBC bosses, given the NTAs winners are solely chosen by public vote.
Amy is up against a string of big names in the Authored Documentary category, including Freddie Flintoff, Molly-Mae Hague, Rob Burrow and Boyzone.
Elsewhere in the shortlist, former Match Of The Day star Gary Lineker received a surprise nod in the Presenter category, against Claudia, Alison Hammond, Stacey Solomon, and veteran winners Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.
Gary departed the iconic show at the end of last season after 26 years at its helm, after sharing a post about Zionism featuring a depiction of a rat on social media, which has anti-Semitic connotations. He apologised but said it was 'best for all concerned' if he left completely.
Ant and Dec are once again favourites to scoop the prize, although their beloved series I'm A Celebrity will face stiff competition for the Reality Award, going head-to-head with BBC's The Traitors.
One noticeable snub comes in the form of BBC Breakfast, who has been left out of the Daytime category following a string of claims of bullying on the show
This year has seen the Reality Competition category introduced for the first time, with Love Island and Race Across The World also nominated.
One noticeable snub comes in the form of BBC Breakfast, who has been left out of the Daytime category following a string of claims of bullying on the show.
Back in June it was revealed that star Naga Munchetty, who joined the morning programme in 2014, was facing 'bullying claims'.
Sources revealed Naga could face a probe from BBC bosses, and has been placed 'under review' amid claims she bullied a junior colleague on the flagship morning show, just weeks after it was reported that its editor Richard Frediani, was at the centre of a misconduct row.