STARRY! starry night!

JOEL DOMMETT on hosting TV's glitziest event of the year and looking forward to being a dad very soon...

- TESS LAMAC RAFT

NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARDS
LIVE TUESDAY, 8PM, ITV1 AWARDS

It’s a grey and drizzly Thursday afternoon, but Joel Dommett is a riot of colour as he greets TV Times with a warm handshake and flashes one of his trademark megawatt smiles. Dressed in a lime-green shirt and sherbet-pink trousers, he certainly brightens up the day.

‘I apologise for the loud clothes combination,’ he says as we grab a couple of stools to sit on in the corner of the photographic studio. ‘It was for an earlier shoot. I look like a Liquorice Allsort!’

Fizzing with energy, the popular presenter and comedian is hosting ITV1’s National Television Awards for a third year and, as we chat, he is casting his eye over the list of nominees.

‘It’s so exciting! I can’t believe all these people are actually going to be there at the O2,’ beams the Masked Singer presenter, who is expecting his first child with his wife Hannah around about the same time as the awards.

Here, in an exclusive interview, Joel, 38, talks preparations for the live show, being star-struck and imminent fatherhood…

How does it feel being back on NTA hosting duties for a third year?

The hat-trick - it feels mad! To me, the NTAs are like TV Christmas, with the whole telly family getting together round the table and having a drink and a laugh. It’s a privilege to be at the helm.

I’m glad it’s back at the O2. It was at Wembley Arena last year and, no offence to Wembley Arena, but the O2 is much better because it’s newer!

Which of this year’s shortlisted shows have you loved watching?