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

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will take a break from Saturday Night Takeaway after the 2024 series, ITV has said.

The award-winning presenting duo said reaching the “milestone” of 20 series seemed like the “perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath”.

The series previously took a pause in 2009, returning four years later in 2013.

Saturday Night Takeaway has received multiple Bafta and National Television Awards (NTA), including presenting accolades for McPartlin and Donnelly, since its launch in 2002.

The show consists of a selection comical games, participation from studio audience members or unsuspecting members of the public, with a musical or dance performance to finish.

It has spawned numerous well-known segments, including Win the Ads, Undercover, Get Out Of Me Ear, The End of Show Show and the Happiest Minute of the Week.

McPartlin and Donnelly will continue their exclusive working relationship with ITV, as hosts of popular shows including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win.

The pair said they were taking “a breather” from the show, which “takes up such a lot of our year”.

“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,” McPartlin said.

Donnelly said: “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.”

The pair also promised “some very special look-backs” and “exciting new items” for the 20th series.

“Next year in 2024 it will be the 20th series of Saturday Night Takeaway and we’ve got some very special look-backs planned, as well as some very exciting new items,” McPartlin said, in a short video posted to Instagram.

Donnelly added: “And we’ve also decided that our 20th series next year will be a last one for a little while.

“The show takes off such a lot of our year, we just feel we need a little bit of a breather, and that the show is going to take a little bit of a rest.”

“But before that thought, we’ve got the 20 series to plan!” McPartlin said.

The most recent series of Saturday Night Takeaway launched in February, with ITV1’s biggest overnight audience of the year, attracting 6.4 million viewers.

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.”