National Television Awards 2021: Edinburgh's Peter Sawkins accepted the Great British Bake Off's NTA in London last night

Donned in a kilt, Edinburgh student Peter Sawkins collected The Great British Bake Off’s National Television Award in London last night.

The BBC programme won the award for best Challenge Show, fending off competition from Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins and Love Island.

Sawkins, an accounting and finance student, was crowned the show’s youngest ever winner at 20 last year and he accepted the prize on stage looking smart in a kilt.

Judges Paul Hollywood and Dame Prue Leith and presenters Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding appeared via video link to thank the viewers.

Later in the evening, police drama Line of Duty – starring Scotland’s Martin Compston – won the award for returning drama, beating programmes including The Crown and Call The Midwife.

Compston dedicated the award to fans and said their “enthusiasm and dedication never ceases to amaze” him.

Jed Mercurio’s hit police procedural, which aired its sixth and potentially last instalment earlier this year, was also awarded the special recognition award at the NTAs with star Adrian Dunbar hinting at a new series, saying: “Who knows, we might be back.”

Peter Sawkins, Laura Adlington and other cast members of The Great British Bake off in the press room after winning the Challenge Show award at the National Television Awards 2021 held at the O2 Arena, London. (Picture credit: Ian West/PA Wire)

Compston said in the winners room: “I think we must be the most nominated show who’s lost it so it felt great.

“We started as this wee show on a Wednesday night on BBC Two, and to see how it’s grown and it’s all because of the fans."

While discussing Mercurio’s writing on the show, Compston added: “I think that’s the strongest he’s ever written, so it makes you go, ‘Will we ever go again’, which we know we won’t but it gets you hoping because he was writing better than ever.”

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