Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Genre	Entertainment
Directed by	Carl Preston (2002–09) Chris Power (2013–)
Presented by	Ant & Dec
Starring	Kirsty Gallacher (2005–09) Sir Trevor McDonald (2005) Ashley Roberts (2013)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	10
No. of episodes	71
Production
Executive producers	Richard Cowles Siobhan Greene Becca Walker
Producers	Gemma Nightingale Pete Ogden
Production location	The London Studios
Running time	80 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companies	LWT (2002) Granada Productions (2003–05) ITV Productions (2006) ITV Productions co-production with Gallowgate (2007–) Mitre Television (2013–)
Original release
Network	ITV, STV, UTV
Release	Original series: 8 June 2002 (2002-06-08) – 21 March 2009 (2009-03-21) Revived series: 23 February 2013 (2013-02-23) – present
Related
Slap Bang with Ant & Dec Ant & Dec's Push the Button Red or Black?

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (often referred to simply as Saturday Night Takeaway) is a British television variety show presented and executively produced by Ant & Dec. The show was first broadcast on 8 June 2002 on ITV. It is broadcast live from The London Studios on the South Bank. The format was heavily influenced by previous Saturday night light entertainment shows, most notably Noel's House Party and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, while individual items often pay homage to Saturday night TV of the past,such as Opportunity Knocks. On 10 September 2005, ITV had a programme listing the best 50 shows in ITV's 50 years being on air. Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway came second, beaten only by Coronation Street.

From its launch in 2002, the show was unbeaten for four series in its timeslot until scheduled against Doctor Who on BBC One in March 2005. The show entered hiatus in 2010 after its ninth series to allow Ant & Dec to launch family game shows Ant & Dec's Push the Button and Red or Black?. However, in November 2011, it was announced that Saturday Night Takeaway would return in early 2013. After winning the Award for Best Presenters at the 18th National Television Awards on 23 January 2013, Ant & Dec announced that the show would return on 23 February 2013. An official Saturday Night Takeaway iOS app for iPod, iPhone and iPad was released on 15 February 2013. After the fifth episode of series 10, ITV announced that the show would return for an eleventh series in 2014, owing to the popularity of the current run.

On 31 October 2013, it was announced that an arena tour version of the show would take place in summer 2014. Takeaway On Tour Live will visit 12 UK arenas between 6 August 2014 and 10 September 2014, before the 11th series of the long-running entertainment show begins on ITV.

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	8 June 2002	13 July 2002	6
2	11 January 2003	22 March 2003	11
3	13 March 2004	17 April 2004	6
4	2 October 2004	6 November 2004	6
5	12 February 2005	16 April 2005	10
Christmas Special	24 December 2005		1
6	16 September 2006	21 October 2006	6
7	8 September 2007	13 October 2007	6
8	16 February 2008	22 March 2008	6
9	14 February 2009	21 March 2009	6
10	23 February 2013	6 April 2013	7
11	2014	2014	TBA

Opening titles

Pre-titles clip

File:Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway logo 2013.jpg

Initial Saturday Night Takeaway logo, used from 8 June 2002 until 21 March 2009.

Before the titles a comedy clip is shown, which always climaxes with someone – usually Ant, Dec or both of them – exclaiming "Roll the titles!"

• Series 1 & 2: Backstage
• Series 3 & 4: Dressing room (show 1 opening for series 3 was set in the pub and show 1 opening for series 4 was a dream sequence)
• Series 5 & 6: Outside dressing rooms
• Series 7 & 8: "London Studios Canteen" (show 1 opening for series 8 was set in the control room and show 6 opening also included a pub)
• Series 9: Backstage
• Series 10: Backstage

The titles

Originally, Ant & Dec were running through vast amounts of multi-coloured brick walls and then, they get exhausted, before one more run, jumping into the title screen.

The 'Series 5' titles began with Ant & Dec running down a street at dusk and leaping onto the side of a house. They then leap onto the side of another house and run past its window, though Ant temporarily stops to admire an attractive woman in a towel and wearing a face mask. Dec pulls him forward and they jump off the edge again, this time over a motorway and at first appearing to land face down on the ground, but they are actually on the side of the building opposite where they just jumped off. It is dark by this time and they start running up the second building as it were a horizontal platform, before emerging at the top. Ant somersaults onto the top of a final building and Dec spins round onto it. After landing, they look at each other as if to say "never again!". They enter through a "STUDIO" door with the words "ON AIR" on both sides of it. STUDIO and the two ON AIRs light up as Ant & Dec enter through the door and then the camera zooms out to reveal that the studio door is on the "&" of a giant "ANT & DEC's SATURDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY".

New titles were made for series 10. They begin with Ant & Dec coming out of a restaurant in the middle of the day. Ant pulls a napkin off Dec's collar and they walk a few steps past a few people, including a milkman and a woman in a yellow jacket. They smile at each other and then a series of motorbikes go past, but drivers stop there to let Ant & Dec on the passenger seat of one bike each, in order to ride them to the Saturday Night Takeaway studio. They right past a large billboard with the guest announcer of that week in it, who waves to them and they wave back. After the motorbikes pass over the Tower Bridge, Ant & Dec get off and wave goodbye to the riders. They run half-way down a set of stairs which are lit up, and meet six attractive female dancers – three on the left next to Ant and three on the right next to Dec. Dec has a quick dance but Ant just stares at them and laughs. He pulls Dec away and they run down the rest of the stairs. The scene then cuts to them arriving at the new studio with the new ITV logo on the front door. They run inside and the camera shoots up to the roof area, where the show's new logo appears.

Starting games

At the start of the show, Ant and Dec always perform a short comedy sketch, usually based on something that has happened in the news recently. E.g.; when a celebrity complained after a reporter tried to photograph them on their holidays, Ant pretended to get angry with the camera crew and demanded that they stop filming. The cameras were briefly switched off while Dec tried to calm Ant down and when they came back on, Ant and Dec had switched jackets. After the sketch, they announce what's coming up on the show and then Ant goes up into the audience and starts talking to some of them. He usually picks on two or three people and says something embarrassing about them and then picks on a third or fourth person and announces that they will be playing a game live in the studio. A lot of research goes into these games and they involve the person's family and friends.

Games include:

3

Series 1

The first series began on 8 June 2002 and contained six episodes. The first series is notable for containing a number of segments which didn't make it past the first series.

Grab the Ads (Version 1)

Series 1. An early format of the game in which Ant & Dec phone an unsuspecting member of the public and ask them to pick a number between one and nine. Whatever prize is behind that number on the corresponding screen is the prize the person wins. Although the game continued until series nine, this format was only used in series one.

Banged Up with Beadle

Series 1. A spoof reality show in which Jeremy Beadle is locked up in the dungeons of Spitbank Fort in the Solent. Each week, a different member of the public was locked up with Beadle for seven days, and is then given a task to perform live the following Saturday. If they are successful, £5000 would be awarded to them, and they would be released, and Beadle would win a luxury to make his prison life easier. In an attempt to rival Channel 4's smash hit series Big Brother, Banged Up with Beadle was accompanied every week by a spin-off ITV2 show of the same name, presented by Donna Air and Brendan Courtney. During the spin-off, the member of the public performing the task is released, and the new contestant takes their place, to save time broadcasting it during SNT. It also featured footage of the contestant and Beadle practising for Saturday night. This game only lasted one series.

Make Ant Laugh

Series 1. Each week, a contestant is given sixty seconds to impress Ant, who is labelled by his co-workers as "a miserable git", and make him laugh. If they succeed, they win a trophy. If they fail, they are gunged. This game also lasted one series, and was compared to the Challenge Ant segment of SMTV Live.

Jim Didn't Fix It

Series 1–3. A spoof version of Jim'll Fix It, in which audience members who had written to Jimmy Savile in their youth, but have never been lucky enough to fulfil their dreams, are given the chance to have their dreams realised twenty years later. This game lasted a total of three series, but was later dropped.

Home Run

Series 1–3. A hidden camera is placed in a public location in the country, and during the show, Ant & Dec surprise an unsuspecting member of the public, and inform them if they run home immediately, they would be rewarded with £3,000. The person would then be forced to read an oath with stated that they must never go out on Saturday Nights again. Sarah McPartlin, Ant's sister, once took part in the game. This game also lasted a total of three series.

Win the Ads (Version 1)

Series 1. The climax of the show, inviting a lucky member of the audience to "Don't just watch the adverts, win 'em". An ITV show is selected at random, and twenty prizes are taken from the adverts shown within it. The contestant has ninety seconds to answer as many questions as possible correctly. After this, they have to decide to take the prizes they have already won and run, or gamble everything on one final question. A correct answer wins them all of the prizes, a wrong answer wins them a roll of toilet paper. The first version of the game involved three contestants being chosen at random, and then whittled down to one in a short quiz. This was discontinued after one series.

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	8 June 2002	5.51	18
2	15 June 2002	4.97	23
3	22 June 2002	4.84	26
4	29 June 2002	4.62	21
5	6 July 2002	4.96	20
6	13 July 2002	3.64	30

Series 2

The second series began on 11 January 2003 and contained eleven episodes, the longest running series to date. Only a small number of elements were retained for this series, with a number of new games being introduced.

Opportunity Knocks: Again

Series 2–4. A game based on the Saturday night television programme Opportunity Knocks, which enables members of the studio audience, who previously appeared on the expired programme, to act their performances again. This segment replaced the axed Banged Up with Beadle. A memorable moment in the game occurred during Series 3, on 14 October 2004, when sisters, Diane and Mandy Fanthorpe received more applause than Busted on a sawing trick.

What's Next?

Series 2–4. Ant & Dec are presented with a challenge, of which they have no prior knowledge, and which is often embarrassing. Segments included performing with the Royal Navy, becoming part of a Circus of Horrors, acting out a scene from Bill & Ben in giant flowerpot costumes, and grooming giant gorillas from South America. This feature was later modified into Ant vs. Dec, in which the two boys go head to head. One infamous moment came when the curtain hiding the feature failed to raise, forcing an abrupt commercial break, leaving Ant & Dec to prepare for their challenge on air after it was revealed.

Grab the Ads (Version 2)

Series 2–9. A new format for Grab the Ads was introduced in series two, in which each week, a different celebrity would play a game to generate a number between one and nine, and the generated number would reveal a prize – which was then given to the viewer. This game lasted until the end of series nine, but was dropped for series ten in favour of the more commercial Win the Ads (Dec pulls the lever like a fruit machine and the caller is between 001–100 and asks who the caller is and where does he/she come from in this series only). From Series 3, Dec (Ant on the series finale of Series 3) controls the computer by saying "COMPUTER... STOP!", similar to Win the Ads.

Games played include:

• Human Roulette
• Human Bingo
• Box-to-Box
• Human Archery
• Cupid
• Celebrity Baby Bounce
• Musical Toadstools
• The King of Swingers
• Lucky Sheep Dip
• Clowning Around

Little Ant & Dec (Version 1)

Series 2–6. A segment in which pair of child "look-alikes", Little Ant – James Pallister – and Little Dec – Dylan McKenna-Redshaw – interview a number of celebrities and media personalities after Ant & Dec delegate them to them on the flimsy pretext of "we couldn't be bothered". The two are known for asking all sorts of blunt questions, and sometimes bamboozle some surprisingly straight answers out of their victims. Such victims of the duo included Kylie Minogue, Kevin Costner, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Victoria Beckham, the latter of whom was asked what conceived meant, and she told Little Ant & Dec that it meant "where her son got in her tummy". In one instance, where the duo interviewed Ant & Dec themselves, they used two even younger Ant & Dec look-alikes, "Little Little Ant & Dec", to introduce the segment because they 'couldn't be bothered'. Later series also saw the duo interview Ant & Dec's girlfriends, Lisa Armstrong and Clare Buckfield respectively.

Ant & Dec Undercover

Series 2–5. Ant & Dec, wearing heavy disguises, ambush fellow celebrities using a fake story and characters. Early targets of the undercover segment included Simon Cowell on American Idol, Phillip Schofield on This Morning, Lorraine Kelly, the cast of Emmerdale, and British boyband Blue. The segment also occasionally involved fooling members of the public. The last undercover until its revamped return featured Jonathan Wilkes getting his own back on Ant & Dec for making him an undercover victim in series three.

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	11 January 2003	7.51	17
2	18 January 2003	7.45	18
3	25 January 2003	7.69	16
4	1 February 2003	7.48	17
5	8 February 2003	7.73	15
6	15 February 2003	7.69	14
7	22 February 2003	8.21	13
8	1 March 2003	8.75	14
9	8 March 2003	9.01	15
10	15 March 2003	7.56	14
11	22 March 2003	7.89	15

Series 3

The third series began on 13 March 2004, and contained six episodes, as per the first series. Many elements from the first and second series returned, including Undercover, Little Ant & Dec, What's Next?, Opportunity Knocks: Again, Home Run and Jim Didn't Fix It, as well as the introduction of one new segment.

Saturday Cash Takeaway

Series 3. Nine popular takeaways are chosen at random, and one is selected by a member of the studio audience. The takeaway, which is being delivered to an unsuspecting member of the public, has £1,000 stuffed in it. The person who receives the takeaway then answers a question from their front door, and if they get it right, they win the money, along with their food. This was dropped after one series.

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	13 March 2004	9.09	13
2	20 March 2004	7.08	18
3	27 March 2004	7.97	15
4	3 April 2004	7.80	14
5	10 April 2004	7.37	17
6	17 April 2004	7.86	15

Series 4

The fourth series began on 2 October 2004, and contained six episodes. Many elements from the first, second and third series returned, including Undercover, Little Ant & Dec, What's Next? and Opportunity Knocks: Again, as well as the introduction of one new segment.

Saturday Night Pub Olympics

One pub is chosen each week to compete in the "Saturday Night Pub Olympics", a series of sporting events in which unsuspecting members of the public have to show off their sporting prowess. They are split into two teams, and have to face each other in three different events to decide the winning team. Dickie Davies was on hand to commentate on proceedings. Again, this segment was dropped after just one series.

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	2 October 2004	8.23	13
2	9 October 2004	8.01	16
3	16 October 2004	8.17	13
4	23 October 2004	8.60	13
5	30 October 2004	7.55	16
6	6 November 2004	7.27	16

Series 5

The fifth series began on 12 February 2005, and contained ten episodes, the second longest running series to date. Series five saw the return of Undercover and Little Ant & Dec, but a number of segments from past series were dropped. What's Next was revamped and made into Ant vs. Dec, a challenge segment in which the boys would go head to head in a number of different games.

Ant vs Dec

Show	Date	Challenge	Winner	Ant's score	Dec's score
1	12 February 2005	Gladiators	Ant	1	0
2	19 February 2005	The Tightrope	Ant	2	0
3	26 February 2005	Dog Training	Dec	2	1
4	5 March 2005	Escapology	Dec	2	2
5	12 March 2005	Ring of Fire	Draw	3	3
6	19 March 2005	Memory Test	Ant	4	3
7	26 March 2005	Royal Wedding Song with G4	Dec	4	4
8	2 April 2005	Darts	Ant	5	4
9	9 April 2005	Ventriloquism	Dec	5	5
10	16 April 2005	Penalty shootout	Dec	5	6

• The best remembered challenge is the Ring of Fire, which was called off after Dec had a bad accident during his motorbike stunt jump, which resulted in a broken right thumb and a broken left elbow which meant his arm was in a sling for a few weeks afterwards, which became a source of much mirth on the show in subsequent weeks. Also, Ant's puppet of Dec in the ventriloquism challenge came with its own sling.

• The winner of the challenge earned one point on the scoreboard, except for the week the accident occurred, where both Ant & Dec got a point since it was called off that week. In the end, Dec triumphed over Ant 6–5, winning the last challenge, the penalty shoot-out competition, to become overall winner. As a forfeit, Ant had to perform a bushtucker trial from I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!, another ITV show hosted by Ant & Dec, and sing a specially written loser's song, "I am a Loser", to the tune of "We Are the Champions".

Ratings

Episode	Date	Viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	12 February 2005	8.46	11
2	19 February 2005	7.83	14
3	26 February 2005	7.53	14
4	5 March 2005	7.46	17
5	12 March 2005	8.67	10
6	19 March 2005	8.49	14
7	26 March 2005	7.47	14
8	2 April 2005	6.23	18
9	9 April 2005	7.26	14
10	16 April 2005	7.37	14
11	24 December 2005	6.22	16

Series 6

The sixth series began on 16 September 2006 and contained six episodes. Undercover was dropped for the first time, although Little Ant & Dec was retained for the final time. Ant vs. Dec also returned, with two new segments, Beat the Boys and Jiggy Bank, being introduced.

Ant vs. Dec – The Rematch

Show	Date	Challenge	Winner	Ant's score	Dec's score
1	16 September 2006	Abseiling	Dec	0	1
2	23 September 2006	Sumo Wrestling	Ant	1	1
3	30 September 2006	Lumberjack	Dec	1	2
4	7 October 2006	Rowing	Ant	2	2
5	14 October 2006	Cake Baking	Dec	2	3
6	21 October 2006	Forming a Boyband	Ant	3	3
6	21 October 2006	Mini Putt-off	Dec	3	4

• On the last show of this series, the contest was tied at three wins each. It came down to a mini-golf putt-off, which Dec won. After Dec putted the winning ball, Ant's forfeit was to be locked in the stocks and have paint thrown at him by all the show's celebrity guests. Dec celebrated his second win by singing the Tina Turner song "The Best", and wearing a mock king's outfit.

Beat the Boys

Show	Date	Couple	Ant & Dec's Car & Time	Challenger's Car & Time	Winner
1	16 September 2006	Phillip Schofield & Fern Britton	Stretched Limo (3:23)	Caravan (3:25)	Ant & Dec
3	30 September 2006	Trinny Woodall & Susannah Constantine	Girly Jeep (3:16)	Boy Racer (3:15)	Trinny & Susannah
4	7 October 2006	Ben Shephard & Penny Smith	Ice-Cream Van (4:01)	Camp-A-Van (3:59)	Ben & Penny
5	14 October 2006	Harry Hill & Al Murray	Wedding Car (6:18)	Police Car (3:28)	Harry & Al
6	21 October 2006	Wendi Peters & Jennie McAlpine	Hippy Car (3:21)	London Taxi Cab (4:25)	Ant & Dec

The obstacles used in series 6:

• Eammon Holmes Cones
• Grab the Lads
• Celebrity Skittles
• The Brad Pitt Stop
• Shooting Stars
• G4 See-Saw
• Beckham's Golden Balls

Most noteworthy race

• Show 5: Ant & Dec, when it was looking like a victory for them, lost the race to Harry and Al by two minutes and forty-nine seconds. The reason being that their car broke down towards the end of the race and they had to complete the rest of the course by foot.

Jiggy Bank

Series 6-7. A member of the studio audience is invited down to ride a robotic pig, like a rodeo. The longer they can hang on, the more money they will win. The maximum amount of money on offer is £5,000, and any money which isn't won is added to the Grab the Ads jackpot. As a joke, the announcer in the commentary box, or in series six, a child's voice mailing in from a mobile phone, will say "Oink Oink, You Lucky Pig!" when the prize with the money remaining is revealed.

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	16 September 2006	7.58	7
2	23 September 2006	5.21	21
3	30 September 2006	7.37	11
4	7 October 2006	7.33	12
5	14 October 2006	7.64	11
6	21 October 2006	8.21	9

Series 7

The seventh series began on 8 September 2007 and contained six episodes. Jiggy Bank, Beat the Boys and Ant vs. Dec returned from previous series, although all other original segments from the series, such as Undercover and Little Ant & Dec, were scrapped. The introduction of celebrity announcers to the series gave the series a new twist.

Ant vs. Dec – This Time, It's Personal

Show	Date	Challenge	Winner	Ant's score	Dec's score
1	8 September 2007	Speed Skating	Dec	0	1
2	15 September 2007	Spelling Bee	Dec	0	2
3	22 September 2007	60m Sprint Hurdles	Dec	0	3
4	29 September 2007	Weather Forecasting	Ant	1	3
5	6 October 2007	Holding Breath Underwater	Dec	1	4
6	13 October 2007	Queen Tribute Act	Dec	1	5

• Dec won the competition for the third year running, leading Ant 5-1. Ant's forfeit was to play the "Celebrity Baby Bounce" game but instead of numbers he popped balloons filled with gunge. After the song had finished the remaining balloons were revealed to count as a score – for each balloon he popped, one pair of his trainers would be saved from being let off into the sky by helium balloons.

Beat the Boys

Show	Date	Couple	Ant & Dec's Car & Time	Challenger's Car & Time	Winner
1	8 September 2007	Tina O'Brien & Ryan Thomas	Starsky & Hutch Stunt Car (3:52)	Cagney & Lacey Police Cruiser (3:57)	Ant & Dec
2	15 September 2007	Max Beesley & Jonathan Wilkes	Safari Jeep (4:02)	Ambulance (4:00)	Max & Jonathan
3	22 September 2007	Alan Carr & Justin-Lee Collins	Old People's Car (4:26)	Catering Van (4:57)	Ant & Dec
4	29 September 2007	Fearne Cotton & Holly Willoughby	Army Jeep (6:38)	Beach Buggy (6:18)	Fearne & Holly
5	6 October 2007	Eamonn Holmes & Ruth Langsford	Beach Car (7:14)	New York Taxi Cab (9:14)	Ant & Dec

The obstacles used in series 7 are:

• All Star Splat: Each team is given three custard pies and must hit and knock down at maximum three of the six celebrity faces.
• Hook a Duck: The passenger must hook a duck from the pond using a long rod.
• Drawbridge: The team must get out of the car and lower a door on a small castle whilst being attacked by numerous weapons by the other team.
• See-saw: The team must balance over the giant seesaw.
• Domino Rally Alley: The team must reverse and park in between the dominos, without knocking them over.
• Car vs. Beast: A drag race with a remote controlled robot displaying a famous face or animal.
• Tony Blackburn's Wheel of Steel: The team must continue to sing the song that stops playing in tune whilst they rotate on a giant turntable.

Failure to complete any of the obstacles correctly will incur a ten second penalty.

Most noteworthy race

• Show 4: Ant & Dec completed the track in 6:38, after falling off the turntable at Tony Blackburn's Wheel of Steel and losing two minutes, allowing Fearne & Holly to win by 20 seconds, despite receiving ten second penalties at every obstacle with the exception of Hook a Duck and the Drawbridge – which carries no penalty.

Celebrity Announcers

• 8 September: Simon Pegg
• 15 September: Daniel Radcliffe
• 22 September: Quentin Tarantino
• 29 September: Christian Slater
• 6 October: Harry Hill
• 13 October: Katie Price & Peter André

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	8 September 2007	6.59	10
2	15 September 2007	6.76	8
3	22 September 2007	7.16	8
4	29 September 2007	6.56	13
5	6 October 2007	4.84	18
6	13 October 2007	5.6	16

Series 8

The eighth series began on 16 February 2008, and contained six episodes. A new studio game, entitled The Mouse Trap, was introduced during the series, and retained for series nine, although was later pulled and did not feature in series ten. All other features from series seven were retained.

Ant vs. Dec – The Teams (Part 1)

Show	Date	Challenge	Winner	Ant's score	Dec's score	Eliminated
1	16 February 2008	Royal Navy Assault Course	Dec	0	1	Wayne Sleep
2	23 February 2008	Dodgeball	Ant	1	1	Sonia
3	1 March 2008	Bobsleighing	Ant	2	1	Paul Daniels
4	8 March 2008	Barber Shop Quartet	Ant	3	1	Melinda Messenger
5	15 March 2008	Indoor Bowls	Dec	3	2	Debbie McGee
6	22 March 2008	Tap Dancing	Dec	3	3	Bonnie Langford

Team Ant

Debbie McGee Bonnie Langford Wayne Sleep Jason "J" Brown Lee Ryan

Team Dec

Chico Slimani Melinda Messenger Paul Daniels Sonia Lee Sharpe

Series 8 saw Ant & Dec train a team of 5 different celebrities for a certain challenge. The losing team on the night would eliminate a member, chosen by the leaders, either Ant, or Dec. Ant's team consisted of Paul Daniels' wife Debbie McGee, actress and singer Bonnie Langford, dancer Wayne Sleep, Jason "J" Brown from Five and Lee Ryan from Blue. Due to "personal reasons", Lee Ryan was unable to commit to the team, and was replaced with ex-Steps member Lee Latchford-Evans. Dec's team members were magician Paul Daniels, 80's singer Sonia and The X Factor contestant Chico Slimani, TV presenter Melinda Messenger, and former footballer and reality TV regular Lee Sharpe. On 16 February, Sonia was unable to take part in the live challenge to due a leg injury, which lead to her elimination after Dec's team lost the challenge. Dec won at Tap Dancing, to equal the scores at 3-3, after he was 3-1 down at one point. It went to a decider – a basketball shootout. With Lee Sharpe scoring for Dec's team, Dec won the series for the fourth time.

Beat the Boys

Show	Date	Couple	Ant & Dec's Car & Time	Challenger's Car & Time	Winner
2	23 February 2008	David Dickinson & Lorne Lesley	Disco 1 (4:16)	Post Van (7:45)	Ant & Dec
4	8 March 2008	Duncan James & Tara Palmer-Tomkinson	Punked Mini (8:14)	Pest remover van (6:30)	Duncan & Tara
5	15 March 2008	Andrew Castle & Kate Garraway	Goth Hearse (5.18)	American Hotrod (6.14)	Ant & Dec

Steps member Ian Watkins and actor Christopher Parker feature in one of the obstacles.

The obstacles used in series 8 are:

• Eamonn Holmes Cones: The driver would be blindfolded and their partner had to direct them through the cones without knocking any over.
• Drawbridge: The team must get out and lower a door on a castle. Whenever they turned the handles, items would be released from two boxes above.
• Drive Thru: The one not driver receives a tray full of drinks without lids. The driver has to go over five speed-bumps and a seesaw while trying not to spill too much liquid. At the end they have to fill up the funnel with the remaining liquid. If they have enough to meet the line, they do not receive a ten second penalty.

The Mouse Trap

Series 8-9. The Mouse Trap was a maze, in which one lucky viewer entered and tried to retrieve as much cheese as possible before making their way out. There were originally ten compartments hanging from above certain zones, and they had to be pulled to release whatever was in it. Each cheese was worth £1,000, and there were five cheeses to be collected in total. The viewer had to collect as much cheese as possible and get out of the maze within the time limit of one minute, or else they would be locked in by Tiddles the Takeaway Cat, and their cheese would count for nothing.

Celebrity Announcers

• 16 February: Will Ferrell
• 23 February: Uma Thurman
• 1 March: Jeff Goldblum
• 8 March: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
• 15 March: Jessica Alba
• 22 March: Kate Hudson

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	16 February 2008	6.41	15
2	23 February 2008	7.29	15
3	1 March 2008	7.29	15
4	8 March 2008	7.48	14
5	15 March 2008	7.76	10
6	22 March 2008	7.38	10

Series 9

The ninth series began on 14 February 2009 and contained six episodes. This was the final series before the show took a four-year break. Beat the Boys was dropped in favour of a new segment, Escape from Takeaway Prison, although all other features from series eight were retained.

Ant vs. Dec – The Teams (Part 2)

Show	Date	Challenge	Winner	Ant's score	Dec's score	Eliminated/winners
1	14 February 2009	Truck Pull	Ant	1	0	Sinitta
2	21 February 2009	Charity Single	Dec	1	1	Lembit Opik
3	28 February 2009	Duke of Edinburgh Award	Ant	2	1	Edwina Currie
4	7 March 2009	Remembering Donkeys Names	Ant	3	1	Nicky Clarke
5	14 March 2009	Writing a Scene for a Soap	Dec	3	2	Yvette Fielding
6	21 March 2009	Performing Songs from Musicals	Dec	3	3	Liz McClarnon

The final main challenge 'Performing Songs from Musicals' was judged by a panel made up of singer Lily Allen, and Dancing on Ice judges Jason Gardiner and Ruthie Henshall. All three voted for Dec, putting the scores up to 3-3. At the end of episode six, the awards were given with Team Ant getting 'loser' medals and Team Dec getting 'winner' medals and the trophy. All of these were awarded by Brian Blessed who also featured in the 'Duke of Edinburgh' challenge. This series, the team format is back, with ten new celebrities:

Team Ant

• Lembit Opik (eliminated 2nd)
• Brian Conley (losing team, not eliminated)
• Liz McClarnon (eliminated 6th)
• Jonathan Wilkes (losing team, not eliminated)
• Yvette Fielding (eliminated 5th)

Team Dec

• Antony Costa (winning team, not eliminated)
• Edwina Currie (eliminated 3rd)
• Sinitta (eliminated 1st)
• Bobby Davro (winning team, not eliminated)
• Nicky Clarke (eliminated 4th)

Escape from Takeaway Prison

Series 9. Twenty celebrities are banged up in the fictional Takeaway Prison, and must embark on a mission to escape. Only one will do so, whilst the others will be jailed for life. Philip Olivier was proclaimed as the winner of the challenge on 21 March 2009. The prison in-mates included Bianca Gascoigne, The Cheeky Girls, Chesney Hawkes, Craig Phillips and Linda Barker.

Celebrity announcers

• 14 February: Paris Hilton
• 21 February: Ricky Gervais
• 28 February: Tom Jones
• 7 March: Al Murray
• 14 March: Paul O'Grady
• 21 March: Zac Efron

Ratings

Episode	Date	Total viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking
1	14 February 2009	7.74	12
2	21 February 2009	6.81	15
3	28 February 2009	6.23	16
4	7 March 2009	7.00	14
5	14 March 2009	5.59	16
6	21 March 2009	6.40	13

Series 10

After a four-year break, the tenth series began on 23 February 2013, and contained seven episodes. This series saw the return of Undercover, Little Ant & Dec, and saw the introduction of new segments such as I'm a Celebrity... Get Out of My Ear!, End of the Show-Show and Vegas or Bust.

Ant vs. Dec – Into The Unknown

In the revived version of the segment, the team format used in the last two series was dropped, and the original format was revived. In this series, the challenges were revealed on the night, without any rehearsals or training – hence the title "Into the Unknown". This is now similar in style to previous feature, 'What's next?'. Whilst the previous five segments were hosted by Scottish presenter Kirsty Gallacher, this series' segment was hosted by American singer Ashley Roberts, formerly of The Pussycat Dolls, and was often narrated by sports commentator Clive Tyldesley. Ant won the segment for the first time at the sixth attempt.

Challenge	Date	Challenge	Winner	Ant's score	Dec's score
1	23 February 2013	Raise The Flag	Ant	1	0
2	9 March 2013	Fairway of Fire	Dec	0	1
3	16 March 2013	Mastermind	Ant	8	4
4	30 March 2013	Catchphrase	Dec	2	4
5	6 April 2013	The Towers of Terror	Ant	3	2

• Series winner: Ant

I'm a Celebrity... Get Out of Me Ear!

For this series, a new game was introduced, entitled I'm a Celebrity... Get Out of Me Ear!. Each week, a celebrity, would be given an ear piece, and is forced to repeat whatever Ant & Dec tell them to say to an unsuspecting member of the public. The first victim was Louis Walsh, who had decorators in his house, and Ant & Dec gave him madcap tasks to perform, such as ringing Dannii Minogue on a banana and crowning himself the king of pop. The second victim was Emma Bunton, who was tasked with giving a job interview to three possible PAs, and Aled Jones became the third victim, inviting party planners to his house to help organise a due.

Ant & Dec Undercover

The original format of Undercover returns, with Ant & Dec dressing up and surprising unsuspecting celebrities. Pranks include the duo fooling One Direction into meeting their "biggest fans", Jeremy Kyle meeting a man who has had plastic surgery to make him look like a cat, and Piers Morgan breaking Simon Cowell's $3.5 million painting.

Little Ant & Dec

Ant & Dec hold a The Apprentice-style segment to find the new Little Ant & Dec as the original pair are now 18-year-olds. The new Little Ant & Dec – Neil Overend (Little Ant) – and Haydn Reid (Little Dec) – are again tasked with interviewing celebrities. For the new series, the duo conducted interviews with Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bruce Forsyth, the Britain's Got Talent judging panel of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, David Walliams and Alesha Dixon and Gerard Butler.

Win the Ads

The second format of Win the Ads is adopted in this revived version of the segment.

Show	Contestant	Right answers	Stay or Play	Result
1	Oliver Hussey	8	Play	Won
2	Dawn Locker	4		Won
3	Lindsey Andrews	4		Lost
4	Stella Moore	9		Won
5	Dawn Bates	4		Lost
6	Charlie Greenwood	7		Won
7	Amanda Henessey	6		Lost

End of the show-show

Ant & Dec perform with a musical routine with a celebrity guest at the end of each show. This usually involves a musician or cast of a musical. For Michael Bublé's performance, Ant & Dec left the studios on a golf buggy and went into the Mulberry Bush pub, which is directly opposite The London Studios, where they were joined by the stars from the evening's show and the television cameras, and where the final part of the show was filmed.

Show	Date	Celebrity
1	23 February 2013	The cast of Singing in the Rain featuring Robbie Williams
2	2 March 2013	The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
3	9 March 2013	Spelbound
4	16 March 2013	The cast of Riverdance
5	23 March 2013	Blue, Five and Atomic Kitten, featuring PJ & Duncan
6	30 March 2013	Michael Bublé
7	6 April 2013	The cast of Jersey Boys

Celebrity announcers

• 23 February: David Walliams
• 2 March: Ricky Gervais
• 9 March: Alan Carr
• 16 March: Sharon Osbourne
• 23 March: Terry Wogan
• 30 March: Lewis Hamilton
• 6 April: Jonathan Ross

Ratings

Episode	Date	ITV viewers (millions)	ITV weekly ranking	ITV HD viewers (millions)	Total viewers (millions)
1	23 February 2013	6.38	10	0.73	7.11
2	2 March 2013	6.59	12	0.71	7.30
3	9 March 2013	6.54	13	—	6.54
4	16 March 2013	6.55	10	0.80	7.35
5	23 March 2013	7.25	8	0.82	8.07
6	30 March 2013	6.93	8	—	6.93
7	6 April 2013	6.65	8	0.91	7.56

Takeaway On Tour Live

The tour will be a co-production between James Grant Live/Ant & Dec and ITV Studios. Kim Gavin, who was artistic director on the Olympic and Paralympic Closing ceremonies, will fulfil the same role on the Takeaway tour.

Due to popular demand extra dates were added on 28 November 2013 and some dates were moved.

The full dates for Takeaway On Tour Live are as follows:

• 6 August 2014 - Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena
• 9 August 2014 - Birmingham, LG Arena
• 10 August 2014 - Birmingham, LG Arena (Matinee & evening show)
• 12 August 2014 - Leeds, First Direct Arena
• 13 August 2014 - Leeds, First Direct Arena
• 15 August 2014 - Manchester, Phones 4u Arena
• 16 August 2014 - Manchester, Phones 4u Arena (Matinee & evening show)
• 19 August 2014 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro
• 21 August 2014 - Belfast, Odyssey Arena
• 22 August 2014 - Belfast, Odyssey Arena
• 23 August 2014 - Belfast, Odyssey Arena (Matinee & evening show)
• 25 August 2014 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro
• 26 August 2014 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro - Sold Out
• 27 August 2014 - Glasgow, The SSE Hydro
• 29 August 2014 - London, The O2 Arena
• 30 August 2014 - London, The O2 Arena (Matinee & evening show)
• 31 August 2014 - London, Wembley Arena
• 2 September 2014 - Sheffield, Motorpoint Arena
• 3 September 2014 - Sheffield, Motorpoint Arena
• 5 September 2014 - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena
• 6 September 2014 - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena (Matinee & evening show)
• 7 September 2014 - Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena (Matinee only)
• 9 September 2014 - Nottingham, Capital FM Arena
• 10 September 2014 - Liverpool, Echo Arena
• 13 September 2014 - Dublin, The O2 (Matinee and evening show)

External links

• Saturday Night Takeaway at itv.com
• Saturday Night Takeaway at stv.tv
• Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway at UKGameshows.com
• Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway at IMDb
• 'Official Ant & Dec website'