Ant And Dec Win National Television Award For 11th Time - Their Career In Pictures (PHOTOS)

Why Do We Still Love Them?

Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly won the Best Entertainment Presenter National Television Award for the 11th year in a row last night, staving off tough competition from X Factor and NTA host Dermot O'Leary.

The Geordie duo, who rose to fame as actors on the children's TV show Byker Grove in the early nineties, are the most decorated stars in the entire history of the gongs.

Both looked overwhelmed as they were named winners of the prize again. Ant shouted, "Again!" as they collected their gong, and Dec said: "We've been lucky enough to win a couple of these but every time it feels like the first time. We are just so honoured and humbled."

But what has kept viewers voting for the presenters every year since 2001 - except in 2009 when the awards were rescheduled to the following year?

They're invited back year after to year to present Britain's Got Talent, one of the UK's most popular talent shows, where they manage to calm contestants before they unveil their (usually awful) 'talents' to the nation on stage.

And their jungle partnership on ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! adds a vital cheeky charm to what could otherwise be a load of desperate d-listers screaming while eating cockroaches.

The duo's sketches and gags between the testicle-eating and anus-swallowing antics keep viewers grounded, and their presence is a comforting reality check for contestants who might otherwise succumb to to the heat and solitude.

The only exception to their golden telly run is Red Or Black?, Simon Cowell's Saturday night gameshow which failed to entice the public, but the duo survived this with barely a tarnish on their ratings-guaranteeing reputations.

The secret to their longevity may lie in their enhanced normality, their cherub-cheeked youthfulness, even their lack of height putting them on the level with any contestants. Remember how chuffed they were when Susan Boyle blew everyone away on her first encounter with the BGT crowd?

Plus everyone likes a bromance, and this pair are the real thing - not content to have their professional lives daily entwined, the pair have bought houses just a few doors away from each other, and socialise constantly.

And, in an age where reality stars come and go like buses, these two have somehow kept their fanbase loyal since their days as aspiring popstars. As we watched them open last night's show sharing a slick dance routine with showbiz veteran Sir Bruce Forsyth, it seemed a long time since their enthusiastic efforts as PJ and Duncan but, despite their success and the millions it's brought them, they have somehow stayed the same people, and herein no doubt lies their secret.

Their career in pictures - worth a look just for the haircuts:

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