'It will just make us stronger': Dermot O'Leary dedicates The Nightly Show to London in poignant opening monologue following brutal terror attack on the capital 

  • The presenter, 43, paid tribute to victims of the attack on Thursday night
  • 'Being a Londoner  is about acceptance, stoicism, tolerance and respect,' he said
  • Speech followed a similar tribute made by James Corden on The Late Late Show 
  • Corden said that if the would only bring people closer, not divide the city
  • He also said that he wished he could have been with his loved ones after attack
  • Five people were killed, including a police officer and the assailant
  • Some 20 people were injured when he drove into crowds on Westminster Bridge
  • He then entered the Houses of Parliament's grounds and killed a police officer 

By Jason Chester and James Wilkinson For Mailonline

Published: 04:20 EDT, 24 March 2017 | Updated: 13:50 EDT, 24 March 2017

Dermot O’Leary offered a moving tribute to London while dedicating The Nightly Show to the victims of Wednesday afternoon’s terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.

Opening Thursday’s edition of the divisive talk show, Dermot, 43, reflected on the capital city and its citizens for their resilience and ability to overcome the atrocity, during which five people lost their lives, with an emotional monologue.

Addressing the audience, he said: 'The terror attacks yesterday happened just a mile away from here. Tonight we're dedicating our show to London; to the people who live here, visit here and who work hard to keep us safe here.

Scroll down for video 

Here's to us: Dermot O’Leary offered a moving tribute to London as he dedicated The Nightly Show to the victims of Wednesday afternoon’s terrorist attack on Westminster Bridger and the Houses of Parliament

Here's to us: Dermot O’Leary offered a moving tribute to London as he dedicated The Nightly Show to the victims of Wednesday afternoon’s terrorist attack on Westminster Bridger and the Houses of Parliament

'People say London isn’t Britain, but to be honest I think it is. Being a Londoner has nothing to do with whether you’re born here, the colour of your skin or the faith you follow. It’s about acceptance, stoicism, tolerance and respect.

'It’s about millions of people being able to live side by side, day by day, in an exciting, vibrant, infuriating, beautiful city, and as awful as yesterday was we know that we’ll endure.

He added: 'In my – and it is my humble opinion – it will just make us stronger. We'll go on living, working, playing, moaning and queuing together. So from us here at The Nightly Show tonight, here's to London, and here's to home.' 

Tribute: Opening Thursday’s edition of the divisive talk show, Dermot, 43, reflected on the capital city and its citizens for their resilience and ability to overcome the atrocity, during which four people lost their lives, with an emotional monologue

Tribute: Opening Thursday’s edition of the divisive talk show, Dermot, 43, reflected on the capital city and its citizens for their resilience and ability to overcome the atrocity, during which four people lost their lives, with an emotional monologue

Dermot's tribute echoed a similar speech offered by British host James Corden at the start of the Late Late Show on Wednesday night in recognition of the terror attack. 

Corden, who is from the London borough of Hilingdon, began his show by saying how, 'watching the news today, I felt a really long, long way from home. 

'And it's funny when something like that happens in your hometown, you don't have a feeling of being glad that you're so far away,' he continued.

'What you feel is that you wish you could be there with loved ones to stand alongside them.' 

Tribute: James Corden also gave a heartfelt tribute to London on Wednesday night, in response to the terror attack on the Houses of Parliament in the center of the city earlier in the day

Tribute: James Corden also gave a heartfelt tribute to London on Wednesday night, in response to the terror attack on the Houses of Parliament in the center of the city earlier in the day

 Video courtesy The Late Late Show with James Corden

'While we're filming this, it's still unknown what the motives [of the attackers] were,' Corden said at the start of his introduction.

'What we do know at this point is that people have lost their lives and many, many more have been injured.

'And I know a lot of people in England watch this show. There's a lot of people from Britain who work on this show, and of course, our thoughts go out to everyone who's been affected by this.'

He concluded: 'London is a diverse and proud and brilliant city, and one thing is for sure: If this act of terrorism was supposed to divide the people of London, I know for a fact that all something like this does is bring them closer together as one. 

'Tonight we send our heartfelt thoughts to everybody in Britain. Stay safe everybody, please.'

Terror: Five people were killed - including a police officer and the attacker - and 20 people injured, 12 seriously, after the assailant drove a car through crowds on a sidewalk

Terror: Five people were killed - including a police officer and the attacker - and 20 people injured, 12 seriously, after the assailant drove a car through crowds on a sidewalk

The attack began at around 2.30pm in the heart of London on Westminster Bridge, which crosses from the south side of the Thames River over to the Houses of Parliament - the seat of British government - on the north.

The attacker, driving a Hyundai 4x4, mounted the sidewalk on the south end of the bridge and plowed into pedestrians.

He then continued up the bridge, striking more civilians, before crashing into the railings of the Houses of Parliament.

The assailant then burst through security and stabbed a police officer to death before being fatally shot three times by armed police.

As well as the assailant and police officer, three civilians died on the scene, 12 suffered serious injuries and a further eight suffered lesser injuries.

Injured victims included a group of French schoolchildren aged 15-16 and three police officers returning from a commendation ceremony.

The attacker, Birmingham based Khalid Masood, is believed to have been inspired by international terrorism.

There was speculation that there might have been more than one attacker, but police are currently operating on the basis that he acted alone. 

Murdered: The assailant then struck railings outside the Houses of Parliament before entering and stabbing a police officer to death. He was then shot dead by armed police

Murdered: The assailant then struck railings outside the Houses of Parliament before entering and stabbing a police officer to death. He was then shot dead by armed police

Comments 61

Share what you think

  View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

  View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.