Why is Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ending and could it come back?

Ant and Dec will say farewell to ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway as the latest - and possibly last ever - series comes to an end this weekend.

A host of famous faces including Girls Aloud and Holly Willoughby are set to appear in the extended two-hour series finale on Saturday evening. And it could well be the last time we get to watch the popular entertainment show after Ant and Dec previously said they were going to take a 'pause' from the programme.

First launched in 2002, the show went on hiatus for a period in 2009, before returning four years later in 2013. In that time it has won numerous awards and accolades over the years. Ahead of the series finale, Declan Donnelly promised the show would be a 'real celebration of Saturday Night Takeaway over the years' but they were giving it 'a rest' for now.

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“We’re honoured and touched that for 20 series it’s been part of Saturday night TV viewing for so many families across the country,” he added.

“We’re giving it (and us!) a rest for now, but we’ll take away and treasure some very special memories and moments. We will most certainly miss it.” Ant Mcpartlin said he could not believe it was nearing the end but that he was looking forward to making the last show “a party to end all parties”.

He added: “The SNT production team have been working non stop to ensure this special, two hour finale has that SNT magic from start to finish.”

Speaking to Fault magazine ahead of the latest series, Ant explained the decision to take a break from the show. He 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