Ant and Dec Takeaway’s 9.5m viewers
BY MARK JEFFERIES
ANT and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway enjoyed its biggest ever audience as families stayed home to watch TV over the weekend.
The Geordie duo had vowed to “put a smile on people’s faces” ahead of the show and they pulled in an average of 9.5million viewers, peaking at 11.1million, despite having no studio audience.
But it’s also the last live show of the run as the boys are going into lockdown.
Dec said: “That is it, show is done. We will be back next week but it is on tape.”
The highlight was the End of the Show Show, with Olly Murs singing Dance With Me Tonight in the studio in front of dozens of videos of fans dancing along at home.
Insiders revealed the two final episodes of the series would go ahead using recorded items and “best bits”.
A source said: “They have worked really hard to make sure the series can be completed in some form because they know people will want something to watch.”
The pair also launched a mental wellness campaign on screen on Saturday.
They have called on the nation to reach out to their loved ones as part of ITV’s Britain Get Talking campaign.
ITV have joined forces with YoungMinds and Mind to urge the public to support one another.
Ant said: “More of us will be apart or by ourselves than ever before. It’s going to be harder for some of us than it is for others.
“So if there’s someone you can’t be with right now, pick up the phone and show them that you care. “Reach out to the ones who need it most.” Other shows to benefit from people isolating at home included ITV’s The Voice, which managed a peak of 5.4million, its highest of the series, while on BBC1, the 10pm news got 4.5million.