DECLAN Donnelly seemed to avoid the spotlight as he accepted his first ever award without best pal Ant McPartlin at the Baftas.
He joined Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon onstage as Britain's Got Talent scooped the Bafta for Best Entertainment Programme, but kept a low profile behind his co-stars.
Amanda Holden could be seen trying to pull 42-year-old Dec to the front of stage, but laughed when he seemed to refuse the invitation.
It was expected that Dec would land the Best Entertainment Programme award for his work on Saturday Night Takeaway.
But instead he won for his efforts with Britain's Got Talent, which he also hosts with Ant McPartlin.
Ant, 42, was absent from the prestigious awards ceremony following his arrest for drink-driving earlier this year.
THE BAFTA 2018 WINNERS
- Leading Actress – Molly Windsor
- Leading Actor – Sean Bean (Broken)
- International – The Handmaid’s Tale
- Supporting Actor – Brian F O'Byrne (Little Boy Blue)
- Comedy Entertainment Programme - Murder in Successville
- Drama Series – Peaky Blinders
- Best News Coverage - The Rohingya Crisis (Sky News)
- Best Current Affairs - Panorama Undercover: Britain's Immigration Secrets
- Best Mini-Series - Three Girls
- Sport - The Grand National
- Best Reality and Constructed Factual - Love Island
- Supporting Actress – Vanessa Kirby (The Crown)
- Best Factual Series - Ambulance
- Best Live Event - World War One Remembered - Passchendaele
- Short-form programme - Morgana Robinson's Summer
- Best Single Drama - Murdered for Being Different
- Specialist Factual - Basquiat: Rage to Riches
- Best Scripted Comedy - This Country
- Best Features - Cruising with Jane McDonald
- Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme - Toby Jones (Detectorists)
- Must See Moment - Blue Planet II - mother pilot whale grieves
- Best Soap and continuing drama - Casualty
- Best Single Documentary - Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad
- Entertainment Performance – Graham Norton
- Entertainment Programme – Britain's Got Talent
Dec seemed a lot more relaxed when posing with the awards backstage with Alesha and Amanda.
Fans flocked to Twitter to share their thoughts on Dec's vanishing act.
One put: "Aww little Dec just hiding at the back!"
Another viewer asked: "Why is Dec hiding at the back? aha. #BAFTA."
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Dec appeared on the red carpet with pregnant wife Ali Astall.
Posing for cameras, Dec beamed with pride as Ali showed off her growing bump.
Dec will return to live TV to host the finals of Britain's Got Talent without Ant McPartlin.
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