Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have signed off their grand final Saturday Night Takeaway before going on hiatus, fighting back tears as they thanked the audience and recapped the last 20 seasons.
The Geordie duo, both 48, have wrapped up their 20th season of the variety show with a whole host of guests, including the likes of S Club 7, Girls Aloud, Simon Cowell, Dermot O’Leary, Alison Hammond and Holly Willoughby.
It was announced last year that this would be the last season of Saturday Night Takeaway ‘for a little while’.
At the time they said the show ‘takes up such a lot of our year’ and they needed a ‘little bit of a breather’.
And it’s certainly ended on a bang, with a ‘super-sized show’ following a season of tear-jerking moments, epic celebrity pranks and even the occasional blunder or two.
Signing off their final show with a recap of the last 20 seasons, an emotional Ant and Dec called it an ‘honour and privilege to have made this show and been a part of your Saturday night over 20 years’.
In the show’s final moments, they belted out ‘It’s All About You’ alongside McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones, singing at one point: ‘We can’t promise we won’t cry.’
‘We’re not going to cry because it’s over, we’re going to smile it actually happened,’ the pair then celebrated, joined by members of the Saturday Night Takeaway production team, the audience and celebrity pals.
The two-hour finale on Saturday began with Craig David DJing outside the studio, with Ant warning the audience that the ending was ‘going to be emotional’.
They then brought out the classic Ring My Bell segment, before giving out guest prizes to the studio and at-home audience.
Then during the final Ant vs Dec challenge, presented by Stephen Mulhern dressed as a trophy, Dec beat Ant in a penalty shoot-out, with the loser saying: ‘We’ve had a blast.’
‘Stephen thank you so much for everything you brought,’ Dec said. ‘You’ve been an absolute star we couldn’t have done it without you.’
The tables finally turned on Ant and Dec when a whole host of celebrities got their own back, playing the ultimate pranks.
Rylan Clark, Davina McCall, Holly Willoughby and Olly Murs got to plan their revenge with Get Me Out of Ear! which ended with the duo smothered in cake and causing absolute chaos in public.
Viewers have been heartbroken the show is ending, with @JazzyDaniels writing: ‘I’m going to miss this show.’
@MissLSW agreed, writing: ‘The last ever (?) episode of #SaturdayNightTakeaway is already making me emosh.’
‘I can’t cope with the boys crying. Going to miss this show so much,’ Amy said.
Ant previously revealed their hiatus comes as he becomes a first-time dad when wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, gives birth, with their baby expected to arrive in June.
‘Part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family,’ he said earlier this year.
He added: ‘We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit.’
Ant and Dec, who met on teen drama Byker Grove, have been working together for more than 30 years, and launched Saturday Night Takeaway in 2002.
The show, which has received multiple Bafta and National Television Awards (NTA), was paused for a period in 2009, before returning four years later in 2013.
They also host other ITV shows including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win.
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is available to watch on ITVX.
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