Adolescence became a real talking point when it was released on Netflix earlier this year
Joel Dommett hosted the National Television Awards for the fifth year in a row(Image: ITV)
The National Television Awards took place tonight and Adolescence scooped up two prizes. The iconic night returned for its 30th year as one of the most star-studded events in the TV calendar. A whole host of stars arrived on the red carpet outside The O2 Arena in London.
The evening opened with a phenomenal performance from McFly, before Michael McIntryre scooped up the first prize of the night. He triumphed in the category for The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award, up against The Graham Norton Show, The Masked Singer and Would I Lie To You?.
Jeremy Clarkson scooped up the prize for best factual entertainment programme, followed by Steve MacFadden who claimed the trophy for best serial drama performance.
Owen Cooper was up against his Adolescence co-star Stephen Graham in the same category at this year’s National Television Awards. The 15-year-old actor from Warrington shot to fame on Adolescence, which landed on Netflix in March this year. The four-part drama became a real talking point due to its strong social commentary on knife crime in the UK.
Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham(Image: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
The show made British TV history, becoming the first streaming show ever to become the most-watched programme of the week it was released. Stephen Graham stars as Eddie Miller, a dad whose life is turned upside down when his son, Jamie, is accused of murder.
The 51-year-old from Kirkby co-created the show with Jack Thorne and said he was inspired by real life tragic events. Adolescence broke Netflix records as one of the most watched shows on the platforms.
Stephen and Owen were both nominated in the Drama Performance category at the National Television Awards. But Owen came out on top in the category voted by viewers themselves. He was up against Stephen Graham, Brenda Blethlyn for Vera, Rose Ayling-Ellis for Code of Silence and Tom Hardy for MobLand.
Cooper is currently in America working so was unable to accept the award on the night. A video recording was shown in his absence. He said: “Never could I have believed that this show, Adolescence, would change my life in the way that it has. It’s the fact that the viewers who voted for this, it just shows what a powerful, impactful show that we all got to make.”
Later in the show, Adolesence also claimed the prize for best new drama. The Netflix series was pitted against Code of Silence, Ludwig, MobLand and Rivals.
Stephen and Owen were unable to accept the award on the night, but other members of the crew took to the stage. Accepting the award, actress Jo Hartley said: “Wow, thank you so much. This is absolutely incredible. It’s an honour to be in the category with these other shows as well.”
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