Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway has become the most watched television show of the year, it's been reported.
According to The Sun, its 99th episode, which aired late last month, was watched by a staggering nine million people - which, fact fans, is more people than the entire population of Switzerland.
The episode was the first of the new series, and as well as being 2018 most viewed programme, it's also the most watched episode in Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway history. Pretty impressive when you consider it's been running since 2002.
An insider told The Sun: "The entire team is absolutely thrilled.
"Everyone works incredibly hard to create the show in the hope that viewers will love every second - and it's great to see that the nation is hooked.
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WATCH: ANT AND DEC'S 'LOVE CHILD' ON SATURDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY
"The team is the strongest it's ever been with Scarlett also making her mark on the series.
"It's clear that the audience can see how much everyone involved enjoys making the show and hopefully that's what has made it a huge success."
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This year's launch episode smashed 2017's by 0.3million more viewers, with the show's bosses hoping it's a sign of a surge in popularity.
Ant and Dec, alongside new hosts Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern, celebrated the 100th episode last weekend.
While Scarlett is said to be bringing in viewers, the show's bosses recently made the decision to axe Little Ant and Dec, from the new series.
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Speaking before it aired, a spokesperson said the pair - who are the second lot of Little Ant and Dec - got too big to play the roles. Imagine being told you're too old for your job at 11. Show business is a funny old thing, isn't it?
Confirming the news, the spokesperson said there was no plans to recast the parts with newer, littler Ant and Decs - so I guess we'll just have to make do with the originals, who, in fairness, are already quite little anyway.
Source: The Sun
Featured Image Credit: ITVTopics: TV and Film, UK Entertainment, ITV, Ant and Dec
