National Television Awards viewers were left fuming when the This Morning crew took to the stage to accept their award for Best Daytime show.
The hosts of the ITV morning show burst into the celebration the moment their show was named as the champion, beating the likes of Loose Women and Good Morning Britain.
But eagle-eyed viewers were left highly unimpressed as Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Langsford, Rochelle Humes and the rest of the This Morning gang took to the stage to accept the coveted award.
An emotional Phillip was first up to accept the gong, as he thanked the loyal viewers for keeping the team ‘sane’ and supporting their broadcast amid the trials and tribulations of the pandemic.
“We are always massively, massively proud of This Morning and our family and our team,” the grateful host told.
"What was amazing for us was, every single day, because of the brilliance of ITV, we could stay on air and we could be there. We felt like we were everyone's comfort blankets, but for all of us, you were our comfort blankets too."
Phil then passed the microphone to Holly, as he lovingly dubbed her his ‘best friend’.
After Holly’s speech, time on stage was cut short, and Eamonn and his wife Ruth failed to get a word in edgeways.
This didn’t go unnoticed by viewers at home, who claimed that Phil hogged the limelight on stage, leaving Eamonn and Ruth looking ‘awkward’.
More annoyed fans insisted that Eamonn and Ruth should have been given the opportunity to share a couple of words during the acceptance speech after all their hard work on the show over the past year – especially Eamonn who has showed up to work amid his severe back problems.
This Morning supporters didn’t hold back when they took to Twitter to slam the acceptance speech.
"Eamonn and Ruth played a huge part in the award so should have spoken," raged one NTA viewer.
“It’s a bit of a joke that Phil just hogged the mic and handed it to Holly when Eamonn and Ruth stood there awkwardly. The show is not just about them,” another echoed.
“Why is it that Phillip Schofield is always the one to speak? Let someone else have a go for the love of God. Poor Eamonn,” someone else complained.
“Eamonn and Ruth don’t get to speak then. I notice that Phil only let Ruth speak lasts year because of the reports he hadn’t been very nice to her,” a fourth suggested.
Meanwhile, another fumed: “I would have loved to see Eamonn been given a chance to speak, but no, Phillip had to be the centre of attention as always.”
It comes after Eamonn turned heads on the red carpet with an extra accessory – his walking cane.
The This Morning star looked incredibly dapper alongside his gorgeous wife who stole the show in a stunning black gown.
