Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly wrapped up their final Saturday Night Takeaway before leaving on break, holding back tears as they thanked the crowd and recapped the previous 20 seasons.
The Geordie couple, both 48, have completed their 20th season of the variety show with a number of guests, including S Club 7, Girls Aloud, Simon Cowell, Dermot O’Leary, Alison Hammond, and Holly Willoughby.
The viewership stats for the spectacular finale have finally been published, with more than four million people turning in.
According to ITV’s overnight figures, the prolonged finale had a high audience of 5.3 million, with an average of 4.6 million viewers tuning in.
The series’ premiere episode drew an average of 4.9 million people, with 5.6 million turning in at its peak.
Last year, it was revealed that Saturday Night Takeaway will end ‘for a little while’.
They remarked at the time that the show ‘takes up such a lot of our year’ and they needed a ‘little bit of a rest’.
But it definitely finished on a high note, with a’super-sized extravaganza’ following a season of tear-jerking moments, big celebrity pranks, and the rare error 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’.
Dec added: ‘When we started this back in 2002, we thought we’d be lucky if we got to do this for maybe a couple of years, so what’s happened has honestly been beyond our wildest dreams.
‘We have truly adored every second of making the show, but there’s one thing we’ve never ever forgotten, and that’s the fact it’s not our show – it’s your show.
‘So we’d like to say a massive thank you to you, our incredible audience.’
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 performed the iconic Ring My Bell section before awarding guest prizes to the studio and at-home audiences.
Then, during the final Ant vs Dec challenge, presented by Stephen Mulhern disguised as a trophy, Dec defeated Ant in a penalty shootout, with the loser declaring, ‘We’ve had a great time.’
‘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 eventually turned on Ant and Dec as a slew of celebrities pulled the ultimate prank.
Rylan Clark, Davina McCall, Holly Willoughby, and Olly Murs got to plot their retribution with Get Me Out of Ear!, which finished with the two buried in cake and causing complete pandemonium 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.
Wasn't expecting to get teary-eyed! Blimey #SaturdayNightTakeaway 👏👏👏
— Laura Lou (@LauJane_) April 13, 2024
Bloody hell laughed and cried not just tonight but for 20 years thank you @antanddec absolutely brilliant as always 😀😀#SaturdayNightTakeaway pic.twitter.com/R00O8vzVCN
— CodsallSimon🚴♂️🏃📖🎶📺🎥🐕🦺 (@codsallsi) April 13, 2024
Ok I can't lie, seeing @antanddec get emotional about ending their show has almost got me emotional, end of an era. #SaturdayNightTakeaway pic.twitter.com/MS3G4vz11F
— K (@KTDuk) April 13, 2024
I can't cope with the boys crying 💔😭😭 Going to miss this show so much 😢 #SaturdayNightTakeaway @antanddec
— Amy 💙 (@geordiegalg) April 13, 2024
The last ever (?) episode of #SaturdayNightTakeaway is already making me emosh 🥺
— Lily W (@MissLSW) April 13, 2024
Watching the last ever #SaturdayNightTakeaway with my daughter seems surreal. I watched this with my mum every weekend. Full circle moment. 🩷
— Jade Gardner ✨️ (@JadeGardner_) April 13, 2024
#AntandDec #SaturdayNightTakeaway is arlready is making me cry
— Sharon (@shazzA7X) April 13, 2024
I'm going to miss this show 🥺🥺🥺 #SaturdayNightTakeaway
— LilMissPrincessJazz 🐇 (Day One 💙❤️💚💛) (@JazzyDanielsUK) April 13, 2024
Ant’s break is due to his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, giving birth in June, making him a first-time father.
‘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 the adolescent drama Byker Grove, have been working together for almost 30 years. They founded Saturday Night Takeaway in 2002.
The show, which has won several Bafta and National Television Awards (NTA), took a break in 2009 before returning four years later in 2013.
They also host ITV series 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.
