With its celebrity pranks, ambitious games and surprises galore, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway 2023 is one beast of an entertainment show for ITV. But what exactly goes into making the happiest 90 minutes of the week?
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway: Behind the Screens, which airs on Sunday, April 9 at 7pm on ITV1, allows cameras backstage for the first time as its ever-popular hosts, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly reveal what happens months, weeks and seconds before they go live — and how they cope when things go wrong!
As this 19th series gears up for its epic finale — coming live for the first time in three years from Universal Orlando Resort — executive producer Diego Rincon reveals why Saturday Night Takeaway is always alright on the night…
What does your job on Saturday Night Takeaway entail?
"I've done nine series, three as executive producer. I’m responsible for signing off on every decision, which is daunting once you see it all written down. Everything from staffing, creative decisions and ideas, signing off digital content, overseeing the scripts, trying to wrangle the budget, being in Ant and Dec’s ear during live shows, the list goes on!"
What parts of the show take the longest to plan?
"The Undercovers are a logistical puzzle that can take months — sometimes even years! — to get right. Finding the right celebrity, then the right person to help set them up, then the right idea that will be believable, then when in their diary and Ant and Dec's diary we can do it. Alison Hammond’s Undercover in the haunted hotel this series didn’t go to plan at all to begin with. We were genuinely concerned she would walk, which was terrifying because of the amount of time and money we’d spent on it! Fortunately, we got it back on the rails."
What goes into planning Get Out of Me Ears, where celebrities are given commands by Ant and Dec via a concealed earpiece?
"Get Out Of Me Ears are straightforward to plan, mainly because the celebrity is in on it. And, yes, the celebs refuse to say and do things ALL the time! Claudia Winkleman refusing to ask for extra chips at the IKEA canteen for being famous was a very funny moment."
How do you handle on-air dramas?
"Shrek falling off the stage during the Happiest Minute, Ant wrestling Stephen Mulhern to the ground during Ant v Dec, none of that was planned. Luckily, Ant and Dec are the best at rolling with the punches LIVE! And, yes, the stage Jordan North crashed into is now fixed. I'm not sure we’ll be letting him on a golf buggy again any time soon."
What are the biggest challenges of doing surprises with members of the public?
"The biggest challenge is keeping the surprise from them, because we need a friend or family member to help us set them up and make sure they're sitting where they're meant to be on their sofa at home, or in the audience. Then we have to hope they’ll react well when surprised — some people scream, some people clam up."
What 'secrets' are revealed in the documentary?
"For all you fact fans, Ant has a latte and Dec loves a green tea for breakfast. There’s also previously unseen things like what happens to the Win The Ads winner once they come off stage. In one show one winner didn't quite take in during the show what all the prizes were — so there’s more reaction from her backstage when she’s reminded one of the prizes is £10,000!"
What goes into planning the end of series finale at Universal Orlando Resort, Florida?
"It’s a monumental challenge that’s taken 11 months to plan. The stage will be in a different location to the last time we were there in 2018 — it will feel epic and really put us in the heart of the park. The finale includes the conclusion of our drama serial, Murder at Bigwig Manor, the last Ant v Dec, and familiar games played with people in the park and viewers at home. Plus, a few more bits you'll have to tune in to find out about!"
The finale of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway can be seen on Saturday April 8 at 7pm on ITV1, with Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway: Behind the Screens on Sunday April 9 at 7pm on ITV1.
