Ant and Dec are “officially” working on the last season of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’.
Ant and Dec are making the last season of Saturday Night Takeaway
The ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ hosts have revealed they are currently in the midst of producing the 20th and potentially final season of the weekend entertainment show after hinting at the show taking a break after next year.
Alongside a snap of their writer’s room on their joint Facebook account, the duo wrote: “Series 20 is officially in the making #SaturdayNightTakeaway.”
In May, the presenting pair – which consists of Dec Donnelly, 47, and Ant McPartlin, 47 – announced that the upcoming series would be the “last one” for a “little white”, which leaves room for the popular show to come back to screens as it did after a break between 2009 and 2013.
Explaining the recent decision, Dec said: “The show takes up such a lot of our year. We just feel we need a little bit of a breather and that the show is going to take a little bit of a rest.”
Ant added: “We’ve got some very special look-backs planned as well as some very exciting new items.”
Afterwards, ITV boss Kevin Lygo commented: “When you think of Saturday night television, you think of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’.
“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 pair are still keeping busy, and just last month they announced they are leading a reboot of ‘Byker Grove’ – the show that ran for 17 seasons until 2006 – which launched their careers when they played PJ and Duncan.
Dec – who will be producing it with Ant with their production company Mitre Studios – told the Guardian newspaper it would “help shine a spotlight on the north-east and the talent the region has to offer both in front of the camera and behind it”.
He added: “‘Byker Grove’ will always be very special to us as the show which gave us our break, so we are beyond excited. We are looking forward to bringing this fresh incarnation to a whole new generation as well as those who remember it as fondly as we do.”