Dec collects TV industry award without Ant

Dec picked up his Tric award on Tuesday without presenting partner Ant

TV star Declan Donnelly made a rare appearance without colleague Anthony McPartlin at this year's Television and Radio Industries Club (Tric) awards.

The I'm a Celebrity... co-host said it was "liberating" to pick up the prize for TV Personality of the Year solo.

Donnelly pretended to put an arm around his invisible partner after beating Alan Carr and Stephen Fry to the prize.

The 37-year-old joked he was glad McPartlin, absent due to illness, was "not here ruining my day".

"We've never been able to come before and it was supposed to be the pair of us," he said on stage at the Grosvenor House hotel in central London.

McPartlin and Donnelly, better known as Ant and Dec, previously won the prize in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, which the pair have hosted since its 2002 inception, picked up the Tric Special Award.

Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans was named digital radio personality for the third year in a row, while singer Peter Andre was crowned digital TV personality for the second time for his ITV2 programme My Life.

Other winners included Coronation Street, which was named soap of the year, and EastEnders actor Shane Richie, crowned best soap personality for his role as Alfie Moon.

Silent Witness won crime programme of the year, beating Sherlock and Inspector Morse spin-off Lewis.

Call the Midwife was named drama programme of the year, while Strictly Come Dancing won best reality programme.

BBC Breakfast's Carol Kirkwood picked up the weather presenter award for the second year running.