National Television Awards viewers were left baffled last night after Molly Mae Hague took home the best authored documentary award, beating the likes of the late Rob Burrow and Amy Dowden.
Many people said the Love Island star, 26, shouldn’t have been in a category with such salient films such as There’s Only One Rob Burrow, the late Rugby League star’s last documentary before motor neurone disease took his life.
The sports star used his heartbreaking diagnosis, which took his life four years later at the age of 41 in June 2024, to help others by raising awareness of the degenerative condition.
The film was broadcast just days after Burrow’s death and included final messages to the world that not even his family were aware of.
Nominations also included Strictly Come Dancing pro Amy Dowden’s documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me, which followed her journey after her 2023 breast cancer diagnosis.
Elsewhere Flintoff – following Freddie Flintoff’s cricket career and recovery from his near-fatal Top Gear crash in 2022 – also lost out on the gong.
Viewers weren’t happy that Burrow’s kids didn’t get their moment in the spotlight, as they watched Molly-Mae scoop the award for her fly-on-the-wall documentary about her life.
Molly-Mae took to the stage to accept her award, saying: ‘Just to be nominated for this award was such an honour.
‘I think as you guys saw, we were up against some seriously inspirational people in this category.’
Conscious of Burrow’s family, Molle-Mae tried her best to soften the blow and during her acceptance speech mentioned Burrow’s wife Lindsey and dedicated her award to his memory.
‘To Lindsay, Rob Burrow’s wife and his children, his story was far more inspirational than mine could ever be. It was just incredible and touched me in more ways than I can explain. This one’s for you Rob, and to the other inspirational people in this category,’ she said.
Metro was at the O2 for the event, and the response to Molly-Mae’s speech was positive, with some mutterings about her not to Burrow being a ‘classy move’.
Despite the influencer’s efforts, viewers were unhappy with the British public for voting for Molly-Mae over Burrow.
‘If you want to know the state of tv these days… Molly Mae documentary beat Rob Burrow documentary What wild times we live in, wrote @PatelBropodcast.
‘Molly Mae winning an NTA over Rob Burrow or Amy Dowden is everything that is wrong with the world,’ said @KelseyLouT.
‘Molly Mae won an NTA for BEST DOCUMENTARY??? And in front of Rob Burrows’ kids???’ asked @MCJPeel, while @Pow_ said: ‘Molly Mae winning best documentary over rob burrows MND battle shows everything that is wrong with this country.’
‘Molly Mae winning an NTA over Rob Burrow really reminds me how much I hate society today,’ added @scward1991, while @IAmSamJMartin said: ‘What an absolute joke!! Molly Mae winning over some amazing documentaries about real powerful stories.’
‘Nothing against Molly Mae, but the other documentaries were much more deserving for sure,’ said @simmytdev.
‘Wow. Molly Mae should not have been in the same category as all of the others then. No hate against her but the likes of Rob Burrows and Freddie Flintoff who actively worked to change lives and raise awareness. Jesus. What a joke,’ said @cat1bow.
‘Molly Mae winning that award over the inspirational people like Amy Dowden and Rob Burrow is a massive slap in the face,’ said @_HeatherAshton.
Elsewhere at the awards, Strictly Come Dancing won the talent show prize for the 10th year in a row and This Morning won best daytime show, as Dermot O’Leary said it was a great moment for a team ‘who have had to endure an awful lot of s**t’ in recent years.
Former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker won best presenter, knocking Ant and Dec off their 23-year streak, following his BBC row over his use of social media.
However the Geordie duo didn’t go home empty-handed, as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here won best reality show, beating The Traitors.
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