Ant and Dec to take break from Saturday Night Takeaway after 2024 series

Ant and Dec have announced that their multiple award winning Saturday Night Takeaway show will take a break after 2024.

The show, which has been running since 2002, features a variety of silly games and prizes for viewers at home and in the studio. It previously took a pause in 2009, returning four years later in 2013. There have been over 130 episodes including two special spin-offs.

Ant noted of the newly-announced hiatus:

“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!”

Airing live on Saturday nights, the show has a number of recurring segments, including:

Win the Ads – a member of the studio audience is chosen to take part in a current affairs quiz that will see them win the contents of an ad break from the previous week’s television.

Ant vs. Dec – The presenters compete against each other in a number of themed challenges. Whoever accrues the most points across a series wins while the winner must undertake a forfeit during the series finale.

Ant & Dec Undercover – The presenters pull a prank on a selected celebrity, involving scripted scenes, such as a situation going wrong for their target. The prank would sometimes include the pair being on scene with their target, but in disguise.

Noted for its high energy feel good fun the show has won multiple BAFTA and National Television awards, however has not been without controversy. In 2020, Ant and Dec apologised for mocking themselves up as Jamaican women for a sketch for the show.

They will continue to work with ITV on their other hit shows including I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win.

Kevin Lygo, ITV Managing Director, Media and Entertainment, 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.”

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is produced by Lifted Entertainment (part of ITV Studios) and Mitre Studios. The show will return next year for its 20th series with the newly-announced hiatus coming into effect thereafter.

The nineteenth series launched in February with ITV1’s biggest overnight audience of the year, attracting 6.4 million viewers.