Sir Lenny Henry will receive the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards.
Sir Lenny Henry will scoop the top gong at the National Television Awards
The ‘Comic Relief’ icon will take home the top prize at the ceremony at London's OVO Arena Wembley on Thursday night (13.10.22), after a showbiz career spanning six decades.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: “He’s such a TV legend and deserves the acclaim he’s about to receive — the Special Recognition Award is always a special part of the evening.”
Reacting to the news, Lenny admitted he is already feeling quite emotional about the honour.
He said on 'Lorraine': "It's really nice, and it's lovely to be recognised. My first ever appearance was on ITV on 'New Faces'. My first TV series, 'The Fosters', was on ITV, so there's a history there. It was the first ever black family sitcom on British television.
"It used to get 26 million viewers in the first season, and the majority of viewers were from Scotland. I loved that.
"It [the Special Recognition Award] is going to pay tribute to that and then there's going to be a little film they've made, then I'm going to say thank you to my family and stuff. I'm going to be quite emosh. I'm trying to save it up for tonight, but I'm already having little bursts of excitement, which is not something you want to see."
Before Lenny is handed the gong - which has been previously won by legends such as Sir Billy Connolly, Sir David Jason, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Joanna Lumley and Graham Norton - the NTAs will show a star-studded video explaining his impact, which will include cameos from the likes of ‘Sister Act’ star Whoopi Goldberg.
The 66-year-old actress says in the clip: “If you want to know what a superhero looks like, take a look at Sir Lenny Henry.”
‘The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’ star burst onto the scene as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the 1970s before becoming a mainstay on British television after featuring on kids classic ‘Tiswas’ and sketch show ‘Three of A Kind’.