The Masked Singer host will be presenting his first National Television Awards tonight.
National Television Awards 2021 host Joel Dommett has said that he spoke to previous hosts Dermot O’Leary and David Walliams, revealing the advice that they gave him ahead of the live ceremony.
This year’s awards, which will air on tonight on ITV, is being filmed live at the O2 Arena, with Dommett set to make his NTA hosting debut.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview, Dommett said that he met up with Dermott O’Leary, who hosted the ceremony from 2010 until 2019.
“Dermot’s been great, I went for lunch with him and he’s been wonderful. It just points you in the right direction, really, which really helps. At the end of the day, producers and the channel and people who have been there before can tell you one thing, but if you’ve never stood on stage holding that microphone at that particular event, it’s a different vibe.
“It is really important to speak to Dermot and David [Walliams] and just kind of get sort of an understanding of how it feels to be there on stage. I’m really excited.”
As for particular advice he received from O’Leary and Walliams, he said: “They all say the same thing really: ‘Just enjoy it.’
“Trouble is nerves can get so in the way of things sometimes. You can be all prepared and it’s all amazing and it’s all set in stone and great, and then you let your nerves come in and it just kind of messes everything up.
“So you’ve just got to like relax, have fun, trust that you’ve got the tricks in your arsenal to make it work and hopefully I have. I’ll find out whether or not I do on Thursday.”
Since its first ceremony in 1995, the National Television Awards has been hosted by five hosts, including This Morning’s Eamonn Holmes, Trevor McDonald, O’Leary, Walliams and now Dommett.