Ant and Dec taking Saturday Night Takeaway break to ‘spend time with family’

Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have said they are taking a break from Saturday Night Takeaway “to spend some time” with their families.

McPartlin married Anne-Marie Corbett in 2021 while Donnelly shares two children, 5-year-old daughter Isla and 18-month-old Jack, with his wife Ali Astall.

The award-winning presenting duo announced last year they would be stepping back from the show after the 20 series milestone as they said it seemed like the “perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath”.

Speaking to Fault magazine, McPartlin said: “Part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family.

“We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit.”

It has been reported that McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett are expecting their first child together.

Corbett also has two teenage daughters from her previous relationship.

McPartlin and Donnelly have been working together for more than 30 years, starting out on teen drama Byker Grove.

They launched Saturday Night Takeaway in 2002, with the show pausing for a period in 2009, before returning four years later in 2013.

It has received multiple Bafta and National Television Awards (NTA), including presenting accolades for the Geordie duo.

The show consists of a selection of comical games, participation from studio audience members or unsuspecting members of the public, with a musical or dance performance to finish.

The pair are set to continue their working relationship with ITV, as hosts of popular shows including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win.

Reflecting on their next moves, McPartlin said: “We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now.

“‘Like I say, we’re turning 49, and what do we want to do next? What’s the next phase of our career?”

“And we’ve got lots of ideas and lots of offers on the table, lots of options of things we can do. But it’s working on what we do next and where the next chapter begins.

“So that’s what we’re gonna do when Saturday Night Takeaway is out of the way. We’ll sit down, take a bit of time, and reevaluate everything.”

Music mogul Simon Cowell is set to be the victim of McPartlin and Donnelly’s famous Undercover prank segment when the show returns on February 24.

The popular feature sees the Geordie duo dress up in disguises in a bid to prank their famous friends.

Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will return to ITV on February 24 at 7pm.