Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway pulled in the biggest audience in its 18-year history as 11million viewers tuned in amid the coronavirus self-isolation recommendations.
The Geordie duo hosted the show without a studio audience for the first time in the show’s 16 series on Saturday night, as the government continues to recommend people stay home.
And so they did, with 45% of all live TV viewers tuning in to watch the boys – with a 9.5million average and an 11.1million peak viewership.
It’s the biggest ratings of any channel in 2020 so far, beating the New Year’s Eve fireworks over London on 1 January.
For context, that’s 2.7million more people than would normally be watching on a Saturday, with viewers literally opting to sit in with a takeaway than head out.
To chuck in some even fancier numbers, it was the most watched programme for young audiences (16-34) too – and that’s even bearing in mind Love Island’s already done a series.
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Basically, Ant and Dec are unstoppable.
The boys used their platform for good as well – and relaunched the ITV mental health initiative Britain Get Talking campaign to encourage others to speak up if they are struggling.
With the increased self-isolation, Ant and Dec spoke from the empty seats of the audience and told people to reach out as ‘we need each other more than ever’.
Dec started by saying: ‘Chances are you’ve just watched the show at home, a place where we’re all going to be spending a bit more time over the next few weeks.’
‘Now more of us will be apart, or by ourselves, than ever before and it’s going to be harder for some of us than it is for others,’ Ant added.
‘Which is why it’s never been more important that we keep talking,’ he added. ‘Just hearing someone’s voice has been shown to reduce anxiety and de-stress.’
Ant added: ‘So if there’s someone you can’t be with right now pick up the phone and show you care. Reach out to the ones who need it most.’
The live show has been axed completely for next week’s finale, with the boys pre-recording the episode in order to then return home.
Confirming the news on Twitter, they said: ‘Thank you all for joining us tonight! Sadly that was our final live show of the series. We hope it sparked some joy when we all need it most.
‘We’ll be back next week with something a bit different. Stay safe everyone!’
Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway airs Saturdays at 7pm on ITV.
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