Just what we ordered
The fun-packed series with something for everyone returns
It’s the live show that makes other Saturday night entertainment look like they could try harder.
And back to doing what they do best, Ant and Dec are promising ‘the best show ever’ as their Saturday Night Takeaway returns.
When we caught up with them they revealed they’ll be wearing panda suits at a zoo, how this series features their favourite celebrity prank of all time and why they feel pressured to always find a spot for David Walliams...
After taking a year off do you plan to make series 16 the best ever?
Ant: We both want this to be the best ever. We want the prize at the end to be the biggest ever and so far things are looking very good. Dec: We’re more nervous doing the live Takeaway shows than anything else. Ant: You’re kind of doing several jobs. It’s like you’re a ringmaster.
Before the live shows, is there ever a Madonna moment of getting together, holding hands, saying, ‘Let’s do a great show?’
Dec: There’s never time for that, we’re always making changes to the show up until the last minute. We’re invariably over time so we’re always losing bits and adding bits. Ant: Or people are in the audience who we may have planned this elaborate surprise for but quite simply they’ve sat in the wrong seats. Dec: We’ve had it before where they haven’t turned up at the studio. At all. Ant: Or we’ve gone live to someone’s house and they’re not there. Dec: So that’s why we get nervous. You really don’t know what’s going to happen.
Is there anything you’ve been dying to do on the show that you’re finally getting to do this time?
Dec: There is a hidden camera prank on a celebrity that we’ve been dying to do for a long time. That is something we’re very excited about. Dec: Getting to the person is difficult. You try with loved ones and you try with agents. Agents invariably say no. So you have to go other ways about it. Ant: And we never want the hit to know. We never want them to find out and then pretend. It’s always better if it’s a genuine surprise. Dec: Sometimes we’ve got to play the long game. Ant: With this one we’ve played a very long game. Dec: One thing we really wanted to do for a long time is the drama serial The Honoured. We’ve done three now. So that’s coming back. This year we’ve been called in because it’s not just the security of Earth it’s intergalactic security. We’ve been brought in to battle aliens. There is a secret race called The Squittarianuvians… Ant: The Squits for short.
Dec: …who are planning to invade Earth and give everybody the squits.
Which celebrities never disappoint you?
Ant: Stephen Mulhern, a regular on the show, never fails to surprise us with his costumes and stupidity. He does try and steal the show. Robbie Williams is always a good one. Dec: Hugh Jackman was amazing. James Corden is brilliant. He loves to roll his sleeves up and get involved. Will Smith is always great.
Do celebs approach you asking to be on?
Ant: They approach us a lot to say, ‘Get me in the jungle.’ But asking to do an Undercover would defeat the object. Dec: David Walliams approaches us every year to be in the show somewhere. ‘What am I doing this year?’ We have to find a role for him. He insists upon it. Ant: He’s a big strong man. Surprisingly strong. It’s best to keep him happy. Dec: Otherwise he’ll get us in a headlock.
What can you reveal about this year’s finale?
Dec: We’re taking the audience abroad again and this time we’re taking more people than ever before. It has officially qualified as the Biggest Ever Giveaway on British television. That’s been confirmed by the show’s lawyers. And it’s a very very big prize. We will reveal where we are going in show one.