Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd has responded to rumours that he was ‘fuming’ at having lost out on a National Television Award to EastEnders’ Steve McFadden.
Both actors were nominated for the coveted award for Serial Drama Performance, but it was the Phil Mitchell star who ended up taking it home after 35 years in the role.
While soap fans were thrilled for the actor, they also picked up on the David Platt star’s reaction, suspecting that he wasn’t happy with the result.
However, that couldn’t be further from the truth, as Jack explained to co-star Colson Smith on the On The Sofa podcast.
‘They said my name first and there was no reaction. But then the next person was Steve McFadden and everyone goes mental.
‘So everyone who’s nominated, you have cameras [facing you]. And then they went, “And the winner is…”
‘All the cameras turned away from me and went to Phil Mitchell. So it was like, there’s obviously not a camera on me, just to give you a clue that I’ve definitely not won this.’
The actor went on to explain that nominees usually practice a ‘loser’s face’, which could be anything from angry to thrilled.
‘What do you do? Do you graciously clap and go, “yep, well done”? Do you over-egg the pudding as though you’re pleased they’ve won and you’ve lost? Do you do the really p***** off face? Or the other one, to pretend not to be paying attention and laugh at some joke that someone has not made?’
Jack admitted that he usually goes for the ‘really p***** off face’ because it ‘makes him laugh’.
However, with no cameras on him at the NTAs, he assumed that they weren’t filming his reaction at all.
‘This year, because I had no camera on me, I didn’t do anything. But they had a little sniper camera.
‘So I was in shot and my reaction was “I’m just watching the NTAs”. I genuinely wasn’t p***** off.’
Jack is no stranger to winning awards, having picked up several Best Actor trophies at different ceremonies over the years, since his first appearance on the cobbles in 2000.
Steve’s win marked his first ever NTA award, and the excitement among his EastEnders co-stars was undeniable.
The actor took to the stage to make an emotional speech, giving a shoutout to his fellow nominees and thanking fans for their support over the years.
‘To even be nominated for this award, watching that VT and my fantastic colleagues on Emmerdale and Corrie is absolutely fantastic, but to win it is unbelievable. It’s absolutely amazing,’ he gushed.
‘Thank you so much. For everybody that voted for me, I truly am grateful and very, very happy to receive this award. Thank you to my fantastic cast over there. Generous, brilliant, stunning, wonderful cast. They are fantastic. Thank you to the audience for forgiving Phil Mitchell 35 years of stupidity!
‘Thank you to the producers, directors, the writers, script editors, everybody at EastEnders, you’ve been amazing to me. The crew, everyone. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you guys. Thank you, I really am touched and over the moon.’
It was a big year for Phil in the BBC soap, as the character battled depression and loneliness and suffered a psychotic episode.
This led to him attempting to take his own life, before spending some time in hospital.
Since returning to Albert Square, he has been supporting best friend Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley) through his young-onset dementia diagnosis.
On the cobbles, Jack’s character David has had an equally dramatic year, having been cheated on by wife Shona Platt (Julia Goulding), said goodbye to mum Gail and watched his house burn to the ground in an insurance scam.
Most recently, he has found out that he is set to become a dad again, after finding a positive pregnancy test.
