BAFTA viewers touched as Ant McPartlin pushes Holly Willoughby to accept I’m A Celebrity TV award

13 May 2019, 10:47 | Updated: 13 May 2019, 10:49

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

Ant made sure Holly Willoughby got the credit she deserved when I'm A Celebrity won a BAFTA.

Ant McPartlin made sure Holly Willoughby received well-deserved recognition when I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! picked up a BAFTA on Sunday night.

The popular telly show won the gong for best Reality and Constructed Factual show after going up against the likes of Dragon’s Den, Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds and The Real Full Monty: Ladies Night.

Holly stepped in to present I’m A Celeb last year while 43-year-old Ant took a leave of absence to work on his addiction struggles.

And as the team headed up on stage to collect the award, Ant pushed Holly from the back of the stage to the front alongside Declan Donnelly, 43, to give an acceptance speech on behalf of ITV.

While holding the gong, Dec told the audience at the Royal Festival Hall: "I’d like to say thank you to Holly for helping me out last year,” which was met by huge claps from the audience.

Giving a nod to Ant, he continued: "You did a fantastic job standing in for Ant, who has reluctantly come up here tonight.

“He's still part of the team, obviously, so we wanted him up here with us to celebrate as well."

READ MORE: Lisa Armstrong hints she wants Ant McPartlin back after 'liking' tweets claiming their 'love is not lost'

Dec then added: "If anyone is feeling a little faint or funny see (I'm A Celebrity medic) Bob afterwards", who was also on the stage.

And fans were quick to pick up on the sweet moment between Holly and Ant, as one wrote: "Nice to see Ant shoving Holly forward to collect the #BAFTATV Award."

“Ant pushing Holly forward with Dec was so sweet,” said another.

While a third added: ““@antanddec congratulations on your baftas boys and holly. Ant its only fair you went up for iac you’re a big part of an amazing team and you both made her dream come true when she stepped in for you as you took some time out. It was lovely to see you looking so well and happy.”

Following the big win, Dec revealed backstage that his temporary presenting partner did a ‘fantastic job’ standing in for Ant.

READ MORE: Holly Willoughby speaks out on weight loss: 'it's personal'

"Holly came in and did a fantastic job, and she loved it and we loved having her,” he said.

“It had a differently feel to it this year but it was really fun. We were both incredibly nervous before we started but we knew we had a great show under our belt and we were just able to go out there and enjoy it."

View this post on Instagram

Thank you @bafta ... so honoured to have been part of the incredible team @imacelebrity 2018 🥂🍾✨

A post shared by Holly Willoughby (@hollywilloughby) on May 12, 2019 at 2:35pm PDT

After the show, Holly also wrote on Instagram: “Thank you @bafta ... so honoured to have been part of the incredible team @imacelebrity 2018.”

Following Holly’s I’m A Celeb debut, it’s since been revealed Ant will retake his place alongside Dec in the 2019 series.