Just as the 20th season of their variety show Saturday Night Takeaway premiers, Ant and Dec have revealed it will be their last as they’ve ‘both got children they need to spend time with’ and want to take a break.
Tonight [Saturday 24 February] will see Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway return to ITV for its 20th season. The milestone is an impressive one for the iconic TV duo who have been in the public eye for over three decades now, but tonight's premiere will be bittersweet.
That's because the pair have revealed that this season of the show will be their last - for 'a while' at least.
"We love making Saturday Night Takeaway, but reaching the milestone of 20 series seemed like the perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath," Ant told Fault Magazine. Dec added, "We still have a momentous 20th series to look forward to first so we will do our best to go out (for now) with a bang in 2024!"
But there's more to their decision and any working parent, whether or not they're struggling with the price of average childcare costs despite the 15 hours free childcare scheme and the 30 hours free childcare scheme which is set to be extended, will understand.
"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," said Ant who is set to welcome his first biological child with his wife Anne-Marie later this year.
The presenter is already a father to two step-children, his wife Anne-Marie's two teenage daughters from her previous relationship. Dec, meanwhile, is a parent to two children whom he shares with his wife, Ali, Isla, who was born in 2019, and Jack, who they welcomed in the summer of 2022.
Speaking about becoming a dad in his and Ant's memoir, Once Upon a Tyne, Dec spoke candidly about becoming a father for the first time, saying the he didn't 'understand how much it would change him.'
"Becoming a dad has completely transformed me," he wrote. "At first, like all expectant parents, I didn't truly understand how much it was going to change me. I just thought it was another little person coming to live in the house.
"It opened up a whole other side to me, a side I didn't know existed. I felt a love that I didn't realise it was possible to feel. Everything I do, every day, is for my daughter now."
The break is one the pair are lucky they can take. Many parents who work full-time struggle to make time for their families and new studies have even revealed that almost half of parents blame the lack of parental leave for impacting the decision to start a family while 85% of parents say that childcare costs are preventing them from having more kids. But while many can't take time off from work to better bond with their children and partners as they rely on wrap-around care to support their kids, there are many parenting hacks to improve your relationship when you also both work full-time.
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