National Television Awards 2017: Winner predictions, celebrity guests and all the details

This Wednesday night (January 25) is all about putting the telly on, making endless supplies of tea and tuning into the National Television Awards as our favourite stars, shows and directors will receive gongs for their small-screen triumphs.

And this year's competition is rather stiff due to the high quality of contenders; it's pretty difficult to predict who will win the main awards, but our money is on the likes of EastEnders for Best Serial Drama due to its tumultuous string of storylines over the past 12 months.

Due to Strictly's wild success in 2016 – attracting a figure of around 11.8m viewers for Ore Oduba's win in the final – we've tipped it to nab the Best Talent Show award.

The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine, could beat Game of Thrones in taking Best Drama award as it proved a big hit with BBC viewers, while ITV's Victoria is in the running to bag Best Period Drama as 2016's hottest newcomer.

The awards ceremony will be aired live on ITV from 7.30pm on Wednesday 25 January, and takes place at the O<sup>2 arena. Our favourite familiar host Dermot O'Leary will be hosting the event, set to use his experience of hosting the live X Factor shows to his advantage as things are most definitely going to be a race against time, if recent celebrity speeches from the likes of Hiddleston are anything to go by.

Britain's most popular stars will gather for the ceremony in London as the TV-loving nation's viewers choose the winners via a nationwide online poll.

Among the contenders, Irish actor Aidan Turner interestingly competes with David Tennant and Michelle Keegan for best drama performance, while The Great British Bake Off is hoping to taking the accolade for Best Challenge Show. Ant and Dec are favourites to pick up the TV Presenter's Award for the 15<sup>th time in a row, and Downton Abbey may also take one last garland, so it'll be an intriguing evening to say the least.

If you fancy attending the event, there are still tickets available via the official website, but hurry up before they sell out.

As for who is set to attend, the full guest list has yet to be confirmed. But if they've been nominated, there's a strong possibility they'll pitch up to the prestigious awards.

What we do know is that former X Factor winner James Arthur is performing his new single Safe Inside during the ceremony. Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt is also reporting backstage at the event, while Sir Ken Dodd will be presenting the best comedy show award. Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid also claimed that they would be presenting an award on Good Morning Britain today (24 January).

Haven't voted for your TV favourites yet? Then head to the NTAs website to cast your vote over the categories; voting closes at noon on Wednesday.