Ant and Dec have announced that they will be "stepping back" from Saturday Night Takeaway after the show's 20th series next year.
The Geordie duo have presented the hit ITV series since 2002 and it has proven to be an immense success over the years, attracting huge guest stars and bagging multiple TV awards. The news has come as a shock to viewers, with one fan lamenting that "life is over" after hearing that it will be going off-air.
Announcing the news in a video on Twitter, Ant said: "Hi everyone, we've got some news for you. You see, next year, in 2024, it will be our 20th series of Saturday Night Takeaway.
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"And we've got some very special look-backs planned, as well as some very exciting new items," he promised.
Dec went on: "And we've also decided that our 20th series next year will be our last one for a little while. The show takes up 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."
Ant added: "But before that though, we've got the 20th series to plan haven't we?"
"Yes, and we're looking forward to it!" Dec responded.
Saturday Night Takeaway fans quickly flooded the comments section with messages of support for the duo, although many couldn't help but express their disappointment that the beloved show would be disappearing from their screens. "Aww that's a real shame. But totally understandable," one person wrote.
Another fan said: "Aww I can't wait for the series but I’m really going to miss it. You guys do deserve a rest though."
"Not the best entertainment show on TV leaving us!" someone else cried.
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