Celebrity gary lineker National Television Awards

Gary Lineker finally took the NTAs Best Presenter award away from Ant and Dec, and his speech absolutely nailed why

Oonagh Keating. Updated September 11th, 2025

Gary Lineker was the face of BBC’s flagship football show Match of the Day for 26 years, providing truly expert commentary on the beautiful game. Off the air, on social media, he was adept at winding up the political right with his public criticism of the Tory government, and his support for climate activists, asylum seekers, and the besieged citizens of Gaza.

Despite having announced his intention to leave after presenting the 2026 World Cup coverage, his departure was brought forward over his opposition to Israel’s actions in Palestine, which included sharing on social media a controversial depiction of Zionism as a rat, for which he later apologised.

On Wednesday, Gary Lineker loosened Ant and Dec’s 23-year stranglehold on the National Television Awards’ Best Presenter category, voted for by the viewers, when he took that honour.

Here’s the moment it was announced.

His speech touched on his why he refused to stop speaking out.

“I think it demonstrates that perhaps it’s okay sometimes to use our platform to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice.”

It was a popular decision on Twitter/X, where Gary Lineker spent years building up a following of almost nine million followers, often by mocking Piers Morgan.

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