(Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

Ant and Dec host raucous Saturday Night afterparty with Rylan and Simon Cowell letting loose

After Saturday Night Takeaway came to an emotional close after 20 years on air, hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly got the party started backstage

by · The Mirror

After the cameras stopped rolling on the final ever Saturday Night Takeaway, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly hosted a raucous afterparty which became the hottest ticket in town this weekend.

Luckily for the duo, there were plenty of celebrities in the vicinity already after the pair invited a host of their ITV chums to celebrate their milestone show with them. Ant and Dec both chocked back tears as they said an emotional farewell to their 20th series.

As the studio audience left the iconic studios, the likes of Simon Cowell, Alison Hammond, Davina McCall, Rylan Clark and Girls Aloud headed backstage at White City to send off the boys in style.

Rylan, 35, was seen in good spirits as he was seen dancing and puffing away on a cigarette. The fun-loving star cosied up to This Morning's Josie Gibson as they shared a hug at the end of what had been a night of high emotions.

Rylan was seen taking a cigarette break as he grabbed some air( Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)
Ant and Dec were filmed making a speech to their nearest and dearest after taking the microphone at the afterparty

The presenter gave fans a glimpse at Ant and Dec's emotional speech as they took to the DJ booth at their party. "We've made some incredible, incredible memories. Thank you once again. God bless you all. Have an amazing night," said Dec to huge cheers from the crowd. "Now hit it!" the star told the DJ as some of his celeb pals yelled out 'Let's Get Ready to Rumble' as a request to their pal on the decks to play their 90s hit.

Dermot O'Leary also took to Instagram as the evening wore on to share some secret off-air snaps. After posting a snap of Girls Aloud's Cheryl giving a rare hug to her 'frenemy' Simon Cowell, Dermot also shared some pics of him posing for selfies with presenters Alison Hammond and Davina McCall at the ITV love-in. In another shot they were joined by Rylan and Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs, who performed with his band during the show.

Rylan Clark and Josie looked pleased to see each other( Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)
Josie looked in great spirits as she rocked a denim jumpsuit( Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

Paying tribute to the hosts, Dermot gushed on Instagram: "Genuine, gentleman, friends, and master of their craft. A real pleasure and an honour to be around their orbit tonight."

After celebrating with Ant and Dec - who he has known since their Pop Idol days - Simon also looked to have had an enjoyable night as he beamed for the cameras in the back of his taxi. Simon, who will be back with the Geordie Duo on Britain's Got Talent next week, gave a thumbs up to the camera as he headed back to his London pad with girlfriend Lauren Silverman beside him.

Cheryl was spotted giving a hug to her 'frenemy' Simon Cowell when the cameras stopped rolling( Image: dermotoleary/Instagram)
The stars couldn't resist posing for pictures with each other( Image: dermotoleary/Instagram)

After joining her Girls Aloud pals as the 'star announcers' on the last ever show, Nadine Coyle flashed a huge grin for the cameras as she was papped heading to the afterparty in the back of a taxi. While This Morning's Alison also looked in great spirits as she stopped to wave to the paparazzi after a quick outfit change.

Simon Cowell gave a jubilant thumbs up to the camera after an evening celebrating with partner Lauren Silverman and his ITV chums( Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

The festivities came after what turned out to be an emotional night for Ant and Dec who visibly became choked up in the final moments of their last Saturday Night Takeaway.

Ant told viewers: “Saturday Night Takeaway is the kind of show Dec and I watched every Saturday growing up, so it’s been an honour and a privilege to have made the show and to have been part of your Saturday nights for over 20 years.”

Dec then added: “When we started this back in 2002, we thought we’d be lucky if we got to do this for maybe a couple of years, so what’s happened has honestly been beyond our wildest dreams.

“We have truly adored every second of making the show, but there’s one thing we’ve never ever forgotten, and that’s the fact it’s not our show – it’s your show. So we’d like to say a massive thank you to you, our incredible audience.”

Smiling Alison Hammond looked all partied out as she gave a wave to the cameras( Image: JAMES CURLEY AND MAGICMOMENTSUK)

Their final goodbye to viewers thanked the audience and the celebrities for taking part and followed on from them singing Kool & The Gang’s Celebration throughout the studio.

Ant and Dec, who met on teen drama Byker Grove, have been working together for more than 30 years, and launched Saturday Night Takeaway in 2002.

The show, which has received multiple Bafta and National Television Awards, was paused for a period in 2009, before returning four years later in 2013.