PAIR play...
With the popular duo announcing they’re stepping away from Saturday Night Takeaway, we’re taking a look at Ant & Dec’s long-lasting friendship… By Rachel Beresford
Fans were left shocked last week when famous presenting duo Ant Mcpartlin and Declan Donnelly announced they will be quitting Saturday Night Takeaway after the 20th series next year. The Geordie pals, both 47, confirmed that they will be taking a break from the show in 2024, saying they need to“catch their breath”.
The move comes after ratings for the ITV show hit an all-time low this year.
Ant said,“we love making Saturday Night Takeaway, but reaching the milestone of 20 series seemed like the perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath.”
Dec added,“we still have a momentous 20th series to look forward to first so we will do our best to go out (for now) with a bang in 2024!”
The pair will continue their working relationship with ITV, as they continue to host hit shows including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win.
So, as the pair split from one of their flagship shows, we’re taking a look at their long-standing friendship and how the popular duo first found fame...
Ant & Dec burst onto the celebrity scene in the late 80s when they landed acting gigs on Byker Grove — the popular young adult drama series, which aired on BBC, about a group of youngsters who frequent the Byker Groveyouth Centre in Newcastle.
The pair played PJ and Duncan and went on to become fan favourites and, as a result, landed many opportunities as their onscreen characters after they exited the show in 1992.
Adopting the monikers for their subsequent pop career, the duo went on to land 14 Top 40 singles, including their most famous hit, Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble, which was nominated for a BRIT award.
In 1994, the best friends landed their first presenting gig, which would set them on the road to dominance on this platform.
Together, they presented a Saturday morning children’s show, Gimme 5, which was broadcast on CITV.
The following year, they were offered a job on CBBC, this time presenting their own series, entitled The Ant & Dec Show.
The series aired for one year, from 1995 to 1996, with the duo winning two BAFTAS, one for Best Children’s Show and one for Best Sketch Comedy Show.
In 1997, the duo switched to Channel 4, presenting an early-evening children’s show entitled Ant & Dec Unzipped. This show also won the pair a BAFTA despite the show being axed after just one series.
ITV snapped up the duo in August 1998 — and within weeks they had landed ITV1’S Saturday morning programmes SMTV Live and CD:UK, presenting alongside pal Cat Deeley.
The trio remained at the helm for three years, as the show become the most popular ITV Saturday morning show.
Ant & Dec’s first primetime presenting job came in the form of BBC Saturdaynight game show Friends Like These. The duo presented two series of the programme between 1999 and 2001.
In 2001, their contract with ITV was renewed and they landed their first primetime presenting job on the station, presenting brand new Saturday night reality series Pop Idol, which ran for two series up to 2004.
During their time presenting Pop Idol, in 2002, the pair also landed their most successful role to date.you’ve gussed it, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
Surprisingly, the first series was not an overall success, but with the introduction of Ant & Dec Undercover, What’s Next?, Ant v Dec and Little Ant and Dec, it soon became a hit with viewers.
Still, the show was rested in 2009 as Ant & Dec said they were running out of ideas.
The show returned in 2013 and was a massive success, with the pair resurrecting Undercover and Little
Ant and Dec (albeit with a new Little Ant and
Dec), Win the Ads, and Ant v Dec, with new co-host Ashley Roberts.
They also brought in new, popular feature the End Of The Show Show and I’m A Celebrity, Get Out Of My Ear! where they have an earpiece in a celebs ear and they tell them what to do while being filmed by secret cameras.
The series was such a success that ITV recommissioned it for 2014 even before the 2013 series ended.
A board game of the format was also released.
In the same year the Saturday Night Takeaway launced, so too did I’m a Celebrity...get Me Out of Here!.
The show was an immediate success — pulling in 15 million viewers by the time the 2004 series rolled around.
In June 2006, the pair also announced they had created a new game-show format for ITV, entitled Pokerface. The show featured members of the public gambling high stakes money to win the ultimate prize.
The first series began on July 10, 2006 and aired for seven consecutive nights.
The second series was broadcast in early 2007 and saw a move to the primetime Saturday slot.
But when ratings for the series fell to below 3.5 million, the series was axed in March 2007.
The pair weren’t without another gig for long, though, as in April 2007, Simon Cowell signed the duo up to front Britain’s Got Talent.
The series is still hugely successful, continually drawing in nearly 12 million viewers, and led to the pair continuing to operate as hosts for all future series.
“IT’S The perfect Time To pause...”
And in November 2016, the pair signed a new three-year deal with ITV estimated to be worth a whopping £30 million.
However, Dec was forced to present the BGT live shows on his own in 2018 — as well as the last two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway — after Ant entered rehab following a substance abuse battle.
In November 2019, Ant and Dec’s DNA Journey aired, which followed the pair as they retraced their family roots through DNA samples. In the show, they both found out that they have the same DNA marker, which means they are distant cousins.
With such a great onscreen bond, is anyone really suprised? ■