Gay TV presenters Graham Norton, Alan Carr and Clare Balding all won awards at last night’s Baftas.

Clare Balding was honoured with a special award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for her 2012 Olympics and Paralympic coverage.

Becoming tearful as she accepted the honour, the broadcaster, 42, thanked her parents and partner Alice Arnold.

“Now I can turn to my home team – mum, dad and Alice – and say, we’ve done it, we’ve won a Bafta,” she said.

Comedian Alan Carr won the Entertainment Performance category for his Channel 4 Chatty Man talk show.

Picking up the gong for best entertainment programme Graham Norton who was also hosting the ceremony joked: “It’s funny how that can cheer an evening up.”

At the beginning of the evening the 50-year-old said he better hurry up and get on with things before any celebrities were detained following a string of arrests in wake of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal.

The chat show host went on to describe a dream about diver Tom Daley in trunks and a bow tie, before swiftly pointing out the dream was “recent” not historic – as the Olympian had only turned 18 last year.