Will Ant and Dec ever bring back Saturday Night Takeaway?
Will Ant and Dec ever bring back Saturday Night Takeaway?
What did you miss?
Ant and Dec have been very careful what they say about the future of Saturday Night Takeaway.
The Geordie duo announced they have decided to "rest" the show after 22 years, with a two hour grand finale airing on Saturday 13 April at 7pm celebrating all their favourite moments from the past 20 series.
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly appeared on This Morning to discuss their decision and admitted they had repeatedly changed their minds about putting the show on ice. They even confessed that the final episode of the series could very well be the last time they ever play Ant Versus Dec.
Could this be a hint that their 'hiatus' is really the end?
What, how, and why?
Ant and Dec chatted to Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary about the spectacular finale they had planned for the end of the series of Saturday Night Takeaway, before they take their "rest".
McPartlin revealed the final show will include the deciding round of Ant Versus Dec, the segment in which the pair compete against each other in varying challenges. Donnelly said: "The score is currently two-two in the series, so it's tied. It's going down to the wire. Ant Versus Dec is the ultimate champion, Because we don't know when the show will be back and we don't know if we'll ever do Ant versus Dec again. So who ever wins it's for life."
The pair also admitted they had had second thoughts about resting the show multiple times during the recent series. Donnelly said: "When we first came tot the decision to rest it, we did it because 20 series feels like a good time to rest it. We told our management we want to rest it, but we reserve the right between now and the end to change our mind several times. And we have. But we know in our heart of hearts it's the right thing to do, for the show and for us personally. It's the right thing at the right time. But we have waivered quite a lot. Because we love it." McPartlin added: "We want to go out on a high."
When Ant and Dec appeared on The One Show at the start of the series, presenter Roman Kemp asked them if their break was going to like that of boyband One Direction, who went on hiatus in 2015 and then split up. He said: "It's not like One Direction is it? They said 'We're going on hiatus'. That's been a long hiatus." And and Dec laughed: "No!"
The 48-year-old friends met as child actors in 1990 on CBBC show Byker Grove, playing best friends PJ and Duncan. They went on to launch a pop career as PJ & Duncan releasing their well-known dancefloor-filler Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble in 1994.
They have become the kings of Saturday night TV, also hosting Britain’s Got Talent and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, and have won the National Television Awards (NTAs) best presenter gong, voted for by the public, 22 years in a row.
What else did Ant and Dec say on This Morning?
McPartlin has confessed that back in 2002 when they launched the very first series of Saturday Night Takeaway, he though the show would be lucky to run for five years. He said: "I remember sitting in the audience seating when we first were rehearsing the show on the first series in 2002 and I turned to Dec and said, 'This is exciting. Look at that set, that's got our name on! Imagine if this ran for like five years!' Because that just seemed crazy. Here we are 20 series, 22 years later - amazing!"
Donnelly added: "We didn't know sat on that day looking at the set, we had no idea of what the future held for the show or for us, so to be here 22 years, 20 series later is really special."
This Morning airs on weekdays at 10am on ITV1.
The finale of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway airs on Saturday 13 April from 7pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
Read more: Ant and Dec
Ant and Dec reveal the real reason they're pausing Saturday Night Takeaway (BANG Showbiz, 2 min read)
Ant McPartlin opens up about stepping back from TV to spend time with family (Digital Spy, 2 min read)
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway unveils first look at "one last series" (Digital Spy, 2 min read)
Watch: Ant and Dec say Simon Cowell Saturday Night Takeaway prank was 'payback'
