Donald Trump wades in on Tric Awards victory and lavishes praise on Nigel Farage - ‘He’s incredible!’

The former US president, who Farage has interviewed twice for the channel, said: “Congratulations to Nigel. He truly is incredible with what he does and says. Everybody listens—the respect is long and deep.”

Fans also rushed to share their good wishes on social media as "Congratulations Nigel" trended across the UK on Twitter.

One Twitter user wrote: "Congratulations. I was one of many who voted for you. Thank you for keeping the truth out there."

Another said: "Congratulations Nigel! It’s about time you got some recognition. Well deserved."

While a third added: "Well done, Nigel! They've sent the censors to shut you down! Incredible!"

For the first time, this year the winners in 17 categories were chosen entirely by the public.

Past awards have been voted on a 60:40 split between the industry and audiences.

The former Brexit Party leader was booed by top executives and talent present at the awards as he demanded reform in the way British television audiences are measured.

Addressing the baying audience, Farage said: “Those of you shouting, think about this. There is a large gap in the broadcast market.

“You’ve all become too much the same. And that is where GB News comes in. What we’re doing is creating a new, fresh brand in British broadcasting. When we overcome the awareness problem, we’re going to be a major force.”

Farage’s critique of the Barb system for measuring TV audiences was a moment of particular frustration for the furious crowd, with some heard shouting “rubbish”.

“You should be frightened, and you will lose your viewers”, he said.

“The way we measure what we’re watching is completely out of touch.

“Barb is broken and we need reform of this system. It’s out of date, it’s out of touch, and I feel very sorry for all of you!”

The TRIC awards were more intensely contested than ever this year with more than 130,000 voters, compared to 66,000 last year and in total, more than 1.3m votes were cast.

Farage said: “The approval of your audience is the ultimate accolade. GB News set out to be the People’s Channel and I’m incredibly proud of that. The establishment media doesn’t always like it – we’re not for them – but this award shows that the people do.”

He added: “In politics, the art of constructive debate is being lost, but it matters. To me, good news and current affairs presenting is about bringing together people with very different opinions, and then having a warm, grown-up conversation with them.”