Olivia Colman gave a touching tribute to the NHS following The Crown's SAG Awards win

'We are very lucky in the UK to have you.'

Pandemic or no pandemic, awards season is well and truly underway (albeit, it's taking place via Zoom this year). And while we couldn't have predicted what this year's awards ceremonies would look like, we would've happily put money on the fact that The Crown would once again be cleaning up.

From winning big at the Golden Globes (and Princess Diana actress Emma Corrin winning again for an incredible Miu Miu dress that sent the internet into a spin), to last night picking up two of the three awards it was nominated for at this year's Screen Actor's Guild Awards, it's been an incredible awards season for the Netflix drama.

Gillian Anderson won 'Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series' for her role as Margaret Thatcher at last night's pre-recorded awards ceremony, while The Crown's cast won 'Best Ensemble in a TV drama series' for the show's fourth season.

And while it was the show that many of us credited with getting us through a year of coronavirus lockdowns, Olivia Colman importantly paid tribute to the real heroes of the pandemic during her acceptance speech.

“We'd all like to say thank you to our wonderful National Health Service during this very peculiar year," the actress said on behalf of the cast. “We are very lucky in the UK to have you, thank you all very much.”

The British actress, who stars as Queen Elizabeth II, gave the acceptance speech via Zoom alongside co-stars Emma Corrin, Josh O’Connor, Tobias Menzies and Marion Bailey.

She also credited The Crown's creator Peter Morgan for the win, saying, "Thank you Peter Morgan for writing so many lovely parts, we all loved it, let's do it again.”

The most recent season of The Crown was Colman's last season playing the Queen, with Harry Potter actress Imelda Staunton set to step into the monarch's shoes for season 5.

While the exact release date for the show's next instalment is yet to be announced, Netflix have said fans can expect it in 2022. And frankly, we've never been more ready.