Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway unveils teaser for final series

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is set to return to television screens for the final series this year.

Presenting duo Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly confirmed in May last year they would be ending their hit variety show after the 20th series.

Teasing plans for the last shows, McPartlin said in an Instagram post at the time: “We’ve got some very special look-backs planned as well as some very exciting new items.”

ITV has confirmed that the show will commence on Saturday 24 December at 9pm on ITV.

A 30-second teaser has also been released with Donnelly vowing they have “lots to pack in”.

“Series 20, can you believe it?” McPartlin says, with Donnelly responding: “We’ve had some incredible Saturday nights.”

After a montage of clips from previous series, McPartlin adds: “Reckon you’ve got one last series in you?” Donnelly replies: “Try and stop me. There’s lots to pack in though.”

After announcing their departure from the show, Ant told Digital Spy: “We want it to be the biggest send-off because we’re resting it for a while.

“So everybody that we haven’t managed to get on in the last few years, we’re gonna try our hardest to get on. It’s going to be a massive celebration of the last 20 years as well, because it’s been running for 20 years.”

He added: “We’re gonna bring old things back, we’ve got brand-new stuff, we’ve got lots of things planned and we’re gonna have a lot of fun doing it. We love it. It’s gonna be sad, but we’re gonna have fun until we get to the final episode.”

This is not the first time the show announced a hiatus. Saturday Night Takeaway previously took a break between 2009 and 2013, before coming back bigger and better for the last decade.

ITV boss Kevin Lygo reacted to the announcement of the show coming to an end and said: "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 much-loved show originally premiered in 2002, and has won both BAFTA TV and National Television Awards during its past two decades on the air.

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway will return to ITV on Saturday 24 February.