Ant & Dec tearful's farewell to Saturday Night Takeaway after more than 20 years

The final episode was full of famous faces and a few blasts from the past

Ant & Dec gave a tearful farewell to Saturday Night Takeaway during Saturday night's final episode. After more than 20 years, and 20 series, the iconic Geordie duo were holding back tears as they addressed viewers at home and the studio audience for the 'last time ever'.

The pair, who have been working together for more than 30 years and launched Saturday Night Takeaway back in 2002, thanked viewers for watching the show, adding that it was "the kind of show we watched every night growing up".

They dubbed it "an honour" and said they had "truly adored" their time on it. The pair ended their emotional speech by thanking the audience, before they were joined on stage by Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones of McFly, to perform a special rendition of 'It's All About You'.

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Ant & Dec then headed out of the studio for another special rendition of 'Celebration' with a multitude of big celebrity names. As the song came to an end, fireworks went off and the pair addressed viewers once more to say "thank you to everyone" adding "we've had the time of our lives", before bidding "goodnight and goodbye" and leaving the stage arm in arm.

The show was full of famous faces, as well as ordinary people who had been a part of the ITV show over the years. Girls Aloud, Kaiser Chiefs, S Club, Tony Hadley, Josie Gibson, Alison Hammond, Joel Dommett, Oti Mabuse, Davina McCall, Simon Cowell, Rylan, Dermot O'Leary, Andi Peters, and Stephen Mulhern, are some of the celebrities who made it to the studio to join in with the farewell celebrations.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) many viewers at home were sad at the thought of Saturday night telly without the much-loved show. One said: "Is there a helpline available, like when Take That split? Got a 10-year-old in floods of tears here at the end of @itvtakeaway."

Another said: "Happy 20th and last season @itvtakeaway... You've been there my whole life and it's so emotional to see you go. Going to miss you on my Saturday evenings."

While some believed it may make a comeback in the future. One viewer wrote: "It's had a few years off before. Give it three or four years, Ant & Dec will bring it back. Especially if the shows ITV put in the slot to replace it with get significantly less in the ratings..."

Ahead of the series finale, Declan Donnelly promised the show would be a 'real celebration of Saturday Night Takeaway over the years' but they were giving it 'a rest' for now. Speaking to Fault magazine ahead of the latest series, Ant explained the decision to take a break from the show, saying: “Part of the reason we're pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family. We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit."