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National Television Awards host Joel Dommett reveals his TV moment of the year - and it’ll surprise you

It was pretty chaotic.

Published: Tuesday, 1 September 2026 at 9:00 am

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There have been plenty of juicy television moments this past year, but nothing was quite as shocking as the I'm a Celebrity... South Africa reunion show, which saw Adam Thomas crowned the winner.

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The spin-off series saw a group of famous faces who had all competed in a past series of I'm a Celebrity and featured a major format twist in which the final was broadcast live, despite the main run of the series being pre-recorded.

One major talking point of the series was the fallout between Adam Thomas and Jimmy Bullard. The pair had been paired together for a Bushtucker Trial but Bullard decided he didn't want to continue, immediately ending the trial as a result.

But his decision to leave also meant Thomas faced elimination, which ruffled some feathers. The Waterloo Road actor accused Bullard of "taking the p***" while Bullard called him "pathetic".

This drama continued to the live final and spilled into an argument between cast members, subsequently becoming one of Joel Dommett's favourite TV moments of the past year.

"Ant and Dec would disagree, I think my favourite show that I watched on telly was the I'm a Celebrity... South Africa reunion show," Dommett told Radio Times ahead of the National Television Awards. "I just thought it was the most live live telly has ever felt in 20 years. It felt so exciting. I don't know anyone that wasn't like, 'You've got to watch this on telly now.'"

Adam Thomas wearing a white jumper and black jeans, smiling ahead with his hands in his pockets.

Adam Thomas. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

He added: "It's unbelievable watching it back. You're like, 'This is incredibly telly' and it feels live."

Another programme that Dommett loved from the past year is The Celebrity Traitors, which was the talk of the nation late last year.

Dommett said: "The other one I'd say is Celebrity Traitors. That was such a massive cultural shift where we were all really invested in Alan [Carr] and Joe Marler.

"It just captured the night like Mr Bates vs The Post Office. It's those cultural moments that really capture everybody and everyone gets dragged along the way."

The BBC confirmed that the first series concluded its run with an incredible 15 million viewers, which saw the biggest on demand audience of any series across the market at seven days since records began.

At the start of December 2025, the sixth episode had seen the highest 28-day figure for the series so far at 15.2 million. In addition, the series to date at 28 days had averaged 14.8 million viewers per episode, with 3.1 million 16-34 year olds tuning in!

The National Television Awards will take place on 8 September.

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Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Katelyn Mensah, smiling against a lime green background.

Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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