Ant and Dec explain real reason Saturday Night Takeaway is cancelled after 20 series

The Geordie duo first brought the show to our TV screens in 2002, but have announced it will not be back

Ant and Dec are saying goodbye to Saturday Night Takeaway tonight with a special two-hour final episode tonight. The much-loved Geordie duo will go out with a bang for the end of the 20th series, which could be the last ever.

The show started all the way back in 2002 but will not be returning for a 21st series next year after Ant and Dec announced they were taking a break. The pair will continue to host shows such as I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win and Britain’s Got Talent but said Saturday Night Takeaway wouldn't be back.

They expanded upon their decision to wind the ITV show down, with Dec saying: "Twenty series just feels like a natural point to pause. We don’t want to say we’ll never do it again.

"But we’ve both got families now. Our lives have changed dramatically. We want to step off the hamster wheel, catch our breath and decide what’s next.”

Ant added: “It will be bittersweet, with lots of tears, but it feels like the right thing.”

Dec has two children - a daughter and a son - with former agent wife Ali. Ant is expecting his first child with his second wife, Anne-Marie Corbett.

The best friends and long-time entertainment partners first launched Saturday Night Takeaway in 2002. The show has previously taken a break before, stopping in 2009 before returning to TV screens in 2013 but it is not known if it will come back again.

The final episode of the 20th series - and quite possibly the last ever - will feature Girls Aloud as the Star Guest Announcers. Simon Cowell, Alison Hammond, Rylan and Craig David are among the stars getting their revenge on Ant and Dec, and the singalong features Tony Hadley, S Club and Kaiser Chiefs.

Stephen Mulhern will also be returning for the ultimate decider of Ant v Dec and someone will also have the chance to Win the Ads and take home the biggest prize pot in the show's history.

The final of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway airs on ITV1 and ITVX on Saturday, April 13 at 7pm.