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Ant And Dec Will Host Saturday Night Takeaway Separately From Their Homes

Ant And Dec Will Host Saturday Night Takeaway Separately From Their Homes

First they got rid of the studio audience, now they're getting rid of the studio all together

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

If it felt strange watching Saturday Night Takeaway without a studio audience then prepare yourself for a whole new level tonight (Saturday - obviously). They're doing away with the studio altogether for this weekend's show, with Ant and Dec presenting the show separately from their respective houses.

Yes that's right, they live in separate houses - I always assumed they had some kind of shared chamber they retired to after each show.

It goes without saying at this point that the reason we've got to this point is the coronavirus pandemic, with social distancing measures ramping up over the past couple of weeks.

In light of the challenges posed by these measures, tonight's show will be only 60 minutes long and will be comprised of the final episode of 'Men In Brown' as well as some of Ant and Dec's best bits, which will be introduced by the pair via pre-recorded links.

You can see a preview clip from the conclusion of 'Men in Brown' below:

Given that none of the show will be live, Ant and Dec will have the bizarre privilege of being able to watch the show along with the nation this evening.

Announcing the news on Instagram, they said: "That's settled then.. this week we'll be doing @itvtakeaway on the telly... from both our houses! (Suits for you at home are optional!)"

On paper, you might think that tonight's show can only be a disappointment, or at least not up the show's usual standards. However, people thought that before last week's show without a studio audience, and it actually scooped its biggest ever audience, with an average viewership of 9.5m viewers - which was almost half of all TV viewers (45 percent).

Ant and Dec will host Saturday Night Takeaway from their homes tonight.
PA

ITV said its peak of 11.1m was the highest on any channel since the fireworks on BBC One on New Year's Eve 2019.

An ITV press release said: "It was up on the series average by +2.7m viewers (+39%) and +7 share points.

"It was the most watched programme of 2020 so far by young people with an average audience of 1.6m - almost two thirds [60 percent] of 16-34 year-old watching TV last night - tuning in for the show.

"This represented an increase on the series average for that age group of +0.5m viewers (+45%) and +9 share points."

Let's all bring some positivity, support and fun to anyone who might find themselves in isolation as a result of the coronavirus spread. Need some entertainment? Join Isolation Nation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coronasupport/

Featured Image Credit: ITV

Topics: TV and Film, saturday night takeaway, UK Entertainment, Ant and Dec