Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (referred to simply as Saturday Night Takeaway, Takeaway or SNT) was a British television variety show, presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), which was originally broadcast on ITV from 8 June 2002 to 21 March 2009. The show returned after a 4-year hiatus, airing from 23 February 2013 to 13 April 2024, after which the show went on another hiatus for an undisclosed amount of time. A potential return for the show has not yet been ruled out.
The show's format, heavily influenced by previous Saturday night light entertainment shows such as Noel's House Party, Opportunity Knocks and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, focused on a mixture of live and pre-recorded entertainment and game-show-influenced segments, as well as interactivity with viewers through prize-giving.
With series averages attracting viewing figures from , the programme proved an immense success for the broadcaster, earning several awards including Most Popular Entertainment Programme at the National Television Awards and the BAFTA for Entertainment Programme in 2013, as well as earning awards for the presenters. Its success led to several international versions being created, though most have been short-lived. The show celebrated its 100th episode on 3 March 2018.
Up until 2018, episodes were broadcast live from Studio 1 at The London Studios. Following the permanent closure of the site after the fifteenth series, the programme moved to Studio TC1 at the Television Centre in West London in 2020. The show entered an indefinite hiatus after the twentieth series in 2024 due to the presenters wanting to spend more time with their families.
Cast timeline
Cast membersSeriesAnthony McPartlin colspan="20" Declan Donnelly colspan="20" Kirsty Gallacher colspan="4" colspan="5" colspan="11" Ashley Roberts colspan="9" colspan="4" colspan="7" Stephen Mulhern colspan="12" colspan="8" Scarlett Moffatt colspan="13" colspan="2" colspan="5" Fleur East colspan="15" colspan="4" Andi Peters colspan="15" colspan="5" Jordan North colspan="17" colspan="3"
Format
The general set up for each episode was a selection of segments consisting of games, comedy/entertainment films, participation by either a studio audience member or unsuspecting viewer, and a show finale consisting of a performance by a musician, dance group, singer, or group performers.
Episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway were broadcast live during the weekend, during a prime-time slot, usually 7 o’clock, on Saturday evenings for the entire run of a series. Each episode was introduced with a line-up of what segments will be featured during its broadcast, along with an introduction of the hosts themselves – from the seventh series onwards, this responsibility was given to a special celebrity announcer, who would not only give an introduction of themselves and the hosts, but would also state what viewers would expect in the show for that episode, along with an update on what was still to come before each commercial break in the programme. Prior to 2022, the opening titles were usually preceded by a cold open scene involving the hosts performing a comedy sketch, similar to the cold openings of the U.S. light entertainment programme Saturday Night Live and usually with celebrity guests for the episode, which ended with them or the celebrities saying – "Roll the titles!"
Segments Throughout the show's history, the programme had featured a variety of segments, some based on notable elements in Saturday night TV. However, Saturday Night Takeaway features a regular selection of segments that it uses frequently in the majority of its episodes. These segments include:
Segment Series DetailsWin the AdsSeries 1–20From Series 1–9, the last segment of an episode, or from Series 10–20, often the penultimate, a member of the audience is randomly selected to take part in a quiz to win a series of prizes. Prior to broadcast, an ITV programme that had been broadcast during the week is randomly selected, whereupon the adverts broadcast during its commercial break(s) are used to create the prizes. Before the quiz begins, the prizes are placed on a grid, concealed, and randomly rearranged, before being given a number. The contestant has to answer as many questions as they can, based on that week's news stories, with each correct answer allowing the contestant to pick a number as their prize at the end. After time is up, the contestant is given the option to take their prizes or gamble for the chance of winning all the prizes if they correctly answer one final question.An Audience Member's GameSeries 2–20 Played at the beginning of an episode, the segment focuses on the presenters initially picking on certain audience members over something embarrassing about them. However, the last person picked takes part in a specially themed game just for them, in which they receive a prize regardless of the outcome. Research for the game is usually by the production team via input from relations and close friends who nominated the participant.Ant vs. DecSeries 5–20Played throughout a series, the presenters compete against each other in a number of themed challenges in which neither presenter knows what each challenge is about. The winner of the game earns a point, and at the end of the series the winner is the one with the highest score; the loser is forced to undertake a forfeit during the series finale. The segment is joined by Stephen Mulhern, who wears a costume according to the challenge, gives out the rules, relays the results of the challenge, and is sometimes joined by a commentator during the challenge. Starting from Series 18, the segment has been renamed to "Ant Vs Dec Vs...".Ant & Dec UndercoverSeries 2–5; 10–20The 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. The footage is shown with the celebrity present in the studio to watch it and react. In 2020, Ant & Dec apologised for blackface after clips resurfaced from 2003 and 2005, portraying Jamaican women and stereotypically black rappers.Little Ant & DecSeries 2–6; 10–14, 20Two young "look-alikes" of the presenters, nicknamed "Little Ant" and "Little Dec", meet with celebrities and ask them blunt questions regarding various subjects, which sometimes bamboozled the interviewee into giving some surprisingly straight answers. The two children playing each look-alike were recast twice, in the tenth series, and twentieth series after the original actors grew too old.End of the Show" ShowSeries 10–20The final segment of an episode, it is always a musical number that is performed by a singer or a band alongside the presenters and special guest star(s).I'm a Celebrity ... Get Out of Me Ear!Series 10–20Similar to "Undercover" and introduced in the tenth series, the presenters give a celebrity a concealed earpiece, and task them with doing whatever the pair instruct them to do before unsuspecting public members.Singalong LiveSeries 11–20The presenters' surprise three unsuspecting viewers, who become contestants in a karaoke-style quiz. Each is tasked with singing a segment of a song that is being sung by its artist, whereupon they must correctly identify a word that is missing from it.Happiest Minute of the WeekSeries 13–20Ant & Dec celebrate the 'Happiest Minute of the Week' by giving prizes to members of their audience and viewers at home. Despite its name, it actually lasts for around 3 minutes.Ring My BellSeries 18–20An audience member's Ring doorbell can be seen and if that audience member recognises that as their house they have to shout, "ding dong that's my doorbell". Then people who live next to that house have to bring a mystery item and ring the bell. If they do it in time, they and the audience member will win £500.
Discontinued segments The following is a list of segments used on the programme in the course of its history, that have since been retired, although may have returned in later series as a one off. These segments include: