ITV has dismissed rumours that Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is facing the axe, insisting the show will return to our screens next year.
In 2018, when Ant McPartlin was still on his extended break from presenting following his arrest for drink-driving, he and Declan Donnelly announced that they would be resting Saturday Night Takeaway for a year, but bringing it back in 2020.
On Sunday, the Daily Star reported that the show is not being brought back, in what has been described as a “bid to help [Ant] keep his workload manageable”.
However, a rep for ITV has insisted that this is not the case, stating simply: “Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will return to ITV in 2020.”
Following Ant’s arrest last year, and subsequent break from work so he could focus on his recovery, Dec was forced to fly solo for the first time in his professional career, hosting two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway on his own, as well the most recent Britain’s Got Talent live shows.
He later teamed up with Holly Willoughby to present last year’s series of I’m A Celebrity.
Despite Ant’s absence for most of 2018, the duo were crowned Best Presenter at the National Television Awards, prompting him to comment that he didn’t feel he could accept the distinction.
He is currently gearing up for their return to TV after a year away from our screens, and will be reunited with Dec on the upcoming series of Britain’s Got Talent, which launches next month.