Ant and Dec announce Saturday Night Takeaway departure but plan to 'go out with a bang'

TV legends Ant and Dec have confirmed their departure from Saturday Night Takeaway in a shock announcement
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TV legends Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have announced their departure from Saturday Night Takeaway. The ITV show has been a hit for almost two decades and the duo’s announcement is sure to come as a blow to loyal fans.

The Geordies, better known as Ant and Dec, have confirmed they will end their run - at least for the time being - on series 20 and promise to make it one to remember. The light entertainment show, famous for huge giveaways, has been on screens since 2002 having aired more than 130 episodes.

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Taking to Twitter, Ant said: "Hi everyone, we've got some news for you, next year, in 2024, it will be our 20th series of Saturday Night Takeaway. We've got some very special look-backs planned as well as some very exciting new items."

Dec ten added: "We've also decided that our 20th series will be our last one for a little while. The show takes up such a lot of our year, we just feel that we need a little bit of a breather and the show is going to take a little bit of a rest."

The duo continued to say that before bowing out they have the 20th series to plan, which they said they were “looking forward to”.

Following the announcement, Kevin Lygo, ITV Managing Director, Media and Entertainment, said: “When you think of Saturday night television you think of Saturday Night Takeaway.

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"Over 20 series the show has become a cultural phenomenon, and while we eagerly anticipate what Ant & Dec have up their sleeves for the 2024 series, we completely understand their desire to take a pause, take stock, and think about what the next incarnation of the show might look like.”

The series has entertained the masses with segments such as 'Win the Ads', 'I'm a Celebrity ... Get Out of Me Ear!', 'End of the Show Show', and 'The Takeaway Rainbow'.

Series 19 ran from February to April this year and brought ITV1's biggest overnight audience of the year with a whopping 6.4 million viewers tuning in, making it the biggest entertainment audience on any channel.

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