Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly bestride primetime TV. They’re like a two-headed presenting hydra – always standing in “Ant and Dec” order from left to right on our screens as a handy aide-mémoire. And this weekend, their Saturday Night Takeaway variety vehicle returns to ITV for its milestone 20th series, after which it’s taking an indefinite break. But where does the show figure in the cheeky geordie chipmunks’ all-time canon? Find out as we rank the duo’s TV CV from worst to best …
20. Red Or Black? (2011-2012)
The duo’s biggest misfire was this moronic mess of a gameshow. The brainchild of Simon Cowell, it made instant millionaires out of four contestants but sparked a scandal when one jackpot winner turned out to have a criminal record. A critical mauling and low ratings saw it axed after two series. Richard Osman wrote in this very newspaper: “As a simple rule of thumb, if Ant & Dec are hosting your show, you’re giving away £1m every night and people still won’t watch, then your format doesn’t work.” It nonetheless spawned several international editions, including a Ukraine version – hosted by future president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
19. Wanna Bet? (2008)
Having conquered British TV, the ubiquitous duo crossed the Atlantic but, like so many before them, failed to crack the US. Poor ratings meant this ABC version of 90s gameshow You Bet wasn’t recommissioned. They returned home, bloodied but unbowed.
18. Slap Bang (2001)
An attempt to remake SM:TV for grownups proved another rare flop. “Challenge Ant” was replicated from the Saturday morning favourite. Cheers parody “Beers” replaced Friends spoof “Chums”. Dwindling ratings meant it lasted just six episodes. Slap Bang neither slapped nor banged.
17. PokerFace (2006-2007)
Not to be confused with the Lady Gaga or Natasha Lyonne hits. This gameshow saw punters gambling big money while trying to bluff their opponents into folding. The concept got so overcomplicated, it became confusing. Ratings slumped to 3m and it was canned after two series – a recurring theme in the duo’s gameshow career.
16. A Tribute To The Likely Lads (2002)
This remake of the 70s sitcom’s classic episode “No Hiding Place” was born out of love – they’re superfans of the geordie institution and persuaded original star Rodney Bewes to make a cameo – but felt more like sacrilege than homage. The pair were at least a decade too young for the roles of Bob and Terry.
15. Push The Button (2010-2011)
Not to be confused with the Sugababes hit. When Saturday Night Takeaway was “rested”, they created this primetime replacement where two families competed in head-to-head games for a cash prize. The final challenge was clunkily called “DAVE” (Dynamic Audio Visual Endgame). They made (guess what?) two series but wisely decided to revive Takeaway instead.
14. Friends Like These (1999-2001)
After being crowned kings of kids’ telly, their first primetime presenting gig was this BBC teatime gameshow. Two gangs of best mates were pitted against each other, aiming to win a spot on a group holiday. They hosted two series – whodathunk? – before Ian “Wrighty” Wright took over.
13. Soccer Aid (2006-2008)
They’re big football fans and hot ITV properties, so who better to front coverage of the pro-celebrity charity exhibition match? The pair presented the first few fixtures with their usual spark but clashes with Britain’s Got Talent meant they handed the reins to Dermot O’Leary.
12. Engie Benjy (2002-2004)
This stop-motion preschool series was Bob the Builder meets Top Gear. The titular character was a blue-haired mechanic, voiced by Dec, who fixed vehicles with help from his magic friends. Ant played his faithful pet dog Jollop, while the catchy theme song was by Clint Boon from Inspiral Carpets. Very cool.
11. Gameshow Marathon (2005)
They’ve helmed plenty of forgettable gameshows, so why not try some bona fide classics? To mark ITV’s 50th anniversary, the pair remade seven of the channel’s best-loved formats. Celebrities competed in revivals of The Price Is Right, Take Your Pick!, The Golden Shot, Play Your Cards Right, Sale of the Century, Bullseye and Family Fortunes. Pleasingly, Carol Vorderman was the eventual winner.
10. Gimme 5 (1994)
Something of an anomaly, since their first ever presenting job was under different abbreviated aliases: “Tony and Lan”. They were right to go back to the drawing board name-wise. The duo co-hosted this live Saturday morning CITV show alongside Jenny Powell and, um, Nobby the Sheep. Dec had a curtains hairdo. Ant wore backwards Kangol caps.
9. The Ant & Dec Show (1995-1996)
Impressed by their presenting debut on Gimme 5, CBBC gave the impish 19-year-olds their own sketch show. Running gags included cheesy American soap spoof Hollywood Hospital, Dec pretending to be in love with Blue Peter’s Katy Hill and infamous game Beat the Barber – where the winning prize was a PlayStation but the defeated punter lost their hair. A young David Walliams was on the writing team. It won a Bafta but only lasted, yep, two series.
8. Ant & Dec Unzipped (1997)
After causing controversy on CBBC, the pair began their transition to primetime with this early evening Channel 4 sketch show. The later time-slot meant they could get away with even naughtier antics and it became a sort of junior take on laddish alternative comedy. Recurring skits included the Viz-like “Tony Blunt”, who always spoke his mind, and “Ant’s In Your Pants” in which McPartlin claimed to be wearing celebrities’ knickers. It earned them a another Bafta but was dropped after a single series.
7. Britain’s Got Talent (2007-present)
The duo were reunited with old Pop Idol sparring partner, Simon Cowell, on the variety juggernaut. It peaked with Su-Bo v Diversity in 2009 but has limped on for another 15 years, now getting half the ratings of its peak. Their warmth and wit come to the fore as they interview hopefuls at the side of the stage. Once the audition round is over and the contest moves on to bloated live shows, though, their duties become more generic.
6. Limitless Win (2022-present)
The best of the half-dozen gameshows they’ve fronted over the years. This one’s gimmick is that it has an endless jackpot, with contestants climbing the cash ladder towards what Dec calls “chunky money”. The rules are fiddly but it has human drama and propulsive momentum. When a Suffolk couple won £1m last month, Ant was more excited than they were.
5. I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! (2002-present)
A month of five-star luxury in Australia is hardly a chore but the pair love hosting the jungle reality stalwart, and it shows. Their running gags and goofy links are always an autumnal highlight. Even when the series relocated to a Welsh castle during lockdown, they kept viewers amused with their trolling of Boris Johnson (“Good evening, prime minister”). Sadly, the stunt casting of Matt Hancock and Nigel Farage means the franchise has lost some of its lustre.
4. Pop Idol (2001-2003)
The pair have acknowledged that the gamechanging 2002 Pop Idol final – when Will Young unexpectedly beat Gareth Gates – was the moment that sealed their status as mainstream stars. “It was all everybody was talking about at the time,” Dec recalls. “To be in the eye of that storm was incredible. It was our first big primetime series and the most electric TV studio atmosphere we’ve ever had.” It was also where the duo developed their backstage interview style, now familiar from BGT.
3. Byker Grove (1989-1993)
“He can’t see, man!” The 13-year-olds not only got their big break on the gritty Grange Hill-esque teen soap. It was also where they met and became inseparable. Dec played strait-laced Duncan Sperring, while Ant was bad boy Peter “PJ” Jenkins, the youth club DJ who was infamously blinded in a paintballing accident. The pair became so popular, they notched up a string of hits under the handle PJ & Duncan. Later this year, they’re producing a reboot titled simply Byker.
2. SM:TV Live (1998-2001)
The show that propelled the duo into the viewing nation’s hearts. Their chaotic Saturday morning children’s series was such a riot it was watched by many a hungover student too. In contrast to the patronising parental tone of other kids’ shows, Ant and Dec were viewers’ fun uncles. Alongside co-host Cat Deeley, they had comedic chemistry to burn. Many of the best-loved sketches were parodies of other shows: The Vicar of Dribbly, Casually, Eminemmerdale and, best of all, Friends spoof Chums. Competitions included Wonkey Donkey (“It has to rhyme!”) and Challenge Ant (“You’re thick!”). It became ITV’s biggest Saturday morning hit since Tiswas and trounced staid BBC rival Live & Kicking in the ratings. As Dec says: “It was where we served our apprenticeship, doing three hours of live TV for 48 weeks of the year.”
1. Saturday Night Takeaway (2002-present)
Just edging out SM:TV is its grownup equivalent. The duo created Takeaway as a homage to the family-friendly variety shows of their youth – The Generation Game, The Morecambe & Wise Show, Noel’s House Party and Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush – and it remains their passion project. A blend of comedy, quizzes, stunts and star guests, it’s a lovingly crafted, precision-tooled injection of joy. They play elaborate pranks in Ant & Dec Undercover and I’m A Celebrity … Get Out Of Me Ear!. Other beloved features include the fiercely competitive Ant v Dec and Little Ant and Dec. Crucially, it’s firmly viewer-focused, enabling audience members to win houses, holidays and weddings – plus the contents of the commercial break in “Win the Ads”. Takeaway bills itself as “the happiest 90 minutes of the week” and invariably delivers.
This article and headline were amended on 23 February 2024 to correct the Byker Grove quote.
