NTAs viewers divided after Molly-Mae Hague beats Rob Burrow for Authored Documentary

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Viewers were left rather divided after Molly-Mae Hague beat Rob Burrow and bagged an NTA for Best Authored Documentary.

Love Island star Molly was nominated for the first time at the glitzy awards do – which returned to screens on Wednesday (September 10) hosted by Joel Dommett.

Other stars in the running included Freddie Flintoff, Amy Dowden, Boyzone and the late Rob Burrow.

But when it was announced that Molly had won the gong, it’s fair to say the internet was left divided…

Molly was over the moon at her NTA win (Credit: ITV)

Molly-Mae wins first NTA

On Wednesday evening (September 10) Molly took home the award for Best Authored Documentary for her Amazon series Molly Mae: Behind it All.

Nominations included the late Rob Burrow for his heartbreaking film, BBC’s There’s Only One Rob Burrow, which followed the Rugby League star’s life before he died from motor neurone disease.

Strictly dancer Amy Dowden’s BBC show, Amy: Cancer and Me, was nominated too, as well as Freddie Flintoff for his Disney+ series Flintoff.

However, it was Molly who ended up bagging the award and she was left delighted over the result.

Viewers were divided (Credit: ITV)

What did Molly say on stage?

“Oh my God!” Molly said in her emotional acceptance speech. She added: “Oh my goodness. Honestly, just to be nominated for this award was such an honour.

“I think as you guys saw, we were up against some seriously inspirational people in this category.”

Molly then paid tribute to Rob and gave a shout-out to his family who were in the audience. She said: “To Lindsay, Rob Burrow’s wife and his children, his story was far more inspirational than mine could ever be.

“It was just incredible and touched me in more ways than I can explain. This one’s for you Rob, and to the other inspirational people in this category.”

Molly spoke about Rob and his family in her speech (Credit: ITV)

Viewers slam Molly’s NTA win

However, viewers were not impressed with the result and shared their thoughts on X. One disgruntled person said: “Molly Mae winning an NTA over Rob Burrow or Amy Dowden is everything that is wrong with the world.”

Someone else added: “Molly Mae winning an NTA over Rob Burrow’s MND documentary just says everything about our society.”

A third chimed in: “Molly-Mae winning a NTA for whining about Tommy Fury above Rob Burrow and a Cancer survivor makes me think you should be at least 25 to have the vote.”

Another fumed: “Molly Mae winning an NTA over Rob Burrow really reminds me how much I hate society today. And the mid-speech dedication felt false and completely inappropriate. His family’s face said it all.”

‘It’s not Molly Mae’s fault she won’

A fifth then penned: “If you want to know the state of TV these days… Molly Mae documentary beat Rob Burrow documentary. What wild times we live in.”

However, someone else defended Molly and wrote: “Everyone needs to remember it’s not Molly Mae’s fault she won. I know it was the wrong decision but I’ve genuinely not seen one good thing about her winning – she’s going to be absolutely horrified reading social media today.”

Another said: “I don’t get why so many people are mad. The award is for best authored documentary not for most harrowing story. While Molly’s documentary didn’t discuss topics that are as important as some of the others, it was very well made and enjoyable. So I say well done Molly.”

A Strictly star also hit out at the result (Credit: InstagramStory)

Carlos Gu slams ‘baffling’ result

What’s more, it wasn’t just viewers that were not happy with Molly bagging the award. Strictly pro dancer and best pal of Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu has also shared his thoughts on Amy losing out to Molly-Mae.

Taking to his Instagram Story, he wrote: “‘A Breakup Story’ win Best Documentary at the NTAs over films about real human suffering, like those battling illness?

“It’s honestly baffling. We’re talking about people fighting for their lives, enduring unimaginable pain, and somehow, a story about a messy relationship got the top honor? It feels absurd-almost like a parody of what awards are meant to recognise.

“There’s something deeply wrong when heartbreak is given more weight than human resilience in the face of terminal disease. It’s not just disappointing-it’s a disturbing reflection of where our empathy as a society is headed.”