Ed Chamberlin reflects upon the 2017 Grand National

In my time in television, I have never experienced anything like Aintree on Saturday. What an occasion and what an indescribable buzz it was - to become just the eighth person to present the mainstream Randox Health Grand National coverage and the first to do so on ITV was an incredible honour.

The eyes of the sporting world, over 600 million people in total in over 140 different countries, were watching the world's most famous race and they were treated, in glorious sunshine, to one of the great stories and great races in Grand National history after which 40 horses and 40 jockeys returned home safe and sound. Aintree and Jockey Club Racecourses deserve enormous credit. More on that later.

Much has been made of the viewing figures in this country. The trends at Cheltenham and the first two days at Aintree were so encouraging and overwhelmingly positive, but the outlook for the main race was signalled when Lucy Verasamy briefed us early in the week that it was going to be beach weather on National day. It was great news for our director and his wonderful camera shots, but less so for the potential audience. 

These are such early days for our project and to get 62% of the country's television audience - ITV's biggest since June when Iceland knocked England out of the Euros - watching a horse race is the positive.

It's also just the beginning for the production side but I was really proud of the programme the ITV Racing team produced. It was new to nearly all of us and totally different to anything we've done before. It was a rollercoaster ride to present and I'd love to do bits of it differently, but that is the nature and challenge of live television. As always, we will go away and try and improve. I read and log absolutely everything that's been said and written, good and bad. Just like after January 1 at Cheltenham, we will listen to all of the positive and negative feedback and act accordingly.

The majority of messages have been very touching, overwhelmingly positive and hugely appreciated. When I joined ITV, one of my first goals was to make the older generation feel like teenagers again watching the Grand National. The music and memories are such an important part of the day. The ITV team behind the scenes did a magnificent job. Watching Saturday's opener (the start of the show in television terms) for the first time in the production truck that morning with the Champions music and all of the nostalgia tied up in it had me in pieces. Lewis Hurt and his team did such a brilliant job and it showcased the incredible city of Liverpool perfectly. I really hope people enjoyed it as much at home.

Having the likes of Hugh McIlvanney, John Francome and Des Lynam on the show was a joy. The features we have done on ITV: Jonjo O'Neill on day one, through to the Frankel foals being born, JT McNamara, Pipe and McCoy etc. seem to have proved particularly popular. Gabriel Clarke produced two more masterpieces for Aintree, which if you haven't seen, I encourage you to do so. They are available on my own Twitter handle and on @ITVRacing.

First, the Red Rum feature was a trip down memory lane for some and an education for others. Then the story of the bomb scare brought back all sorts of memories from 20 years ago. It's incredible to think that that was the biggest evacuation this country has seen since World War Two. Lynam's memories were captivating and Charles Barnett's line to him "Everyone must leave, including you" still haunts. 

What about the race itself? Talking to Sir Anthony McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald and Luke Harvey on air was totally different to any other time this season. You could tell from their animation and passion when talking about the race and the thrill of jumping the fences, just what it meant to them. Clearly, nothing comes close.

I knew Don't Push It was a big moment for AP in 2010, but our conversation brought home the hole it would have left in his career if he'd never won the Grand National, which we also got a sense of from Francome, Jonjo O'Neill and Peter Scudamore in talking to Hugh McIlvanney during the week. 

One For Arthur lifted some of that burden for Scudamore on Saturday. What a wonderful story for Scotland, The Golf Widows, Derek Fox and Lucinda Russell. It was particularly important, I think, for the race and the sport to see owners living the dream and show us all that it can be achieved by anyone. I was also delighted to tip the winner in these pages but fortune played a big part as selecting One For Arthur was as much from the heart as the head. My late Grandfather is to blame for getting me in to racing and every year he backed Scottish-trained runners in the National. Only once, in 1979, did he celebrate. How he would have loved Saturday. Bappa, as I called him was always one to keep you grounded and I can almost imagine the phone call on Saturday evening: "Edly, a good day but I didn't particularly like your tie".

The team at Aintree deserve enormous credit for the way they have moved with the times yet kept the magic of the race. Welfare is to the fore these days and Andrew Tulloch, John Baker and their team made the right decision to dismount every horse after the winning line, something Brough Scott would like to see done every year, and send them straight to the cooldown area. With their excellent communications, via Grant Rowley and Nigel Payne, we were able to relay on ITV through the day how the operation would work and it helped me enormously to have our vet Eva O'Donoghue permanently on hand to explain the procedures.

The new presentation in the middle of the paddock, compered by Matt Chapman, was a masterstroke and gave the race the gravitas it deserved and the racegoers a chance to congratulate the winners. I particularly liked the connections of the placed horses receiving prizes. Well done too to Randox Health.

The one downside of One For Arthur staying in the washdown area was that groom Jaimie never got the congratulations and prize she deserved. The grooms are so important and a big part of what we do on ITV. We will put that right...

Not long ago it looked as if Aintree might close and the Grand National disappear. In 2017 it's wonderful to see the world's greatest race in such rude health. It was an honour for everyone at ITV to play a small part.