Ant and Dec feel ‘sad’ looking back at SMTV Live days
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Ant and Dec have admitted they rarely reminisce on their SMTV days (Picture: Ken McKay/REX)
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly may be TV giants, but they came from humble beginnings and the beloved Geordie duo have admitted they feel ‘sad’ looking back.
The Saturday Night Takeaway presenters famously hosted SMTV Live in the late 90s/early2000s, alongside Cat Deeley.
SMTV Live was a Saturday morning children’s television programme that aired on ITV, premiering in August 1998 and running for 270 episodes across five years until December 2003.
The gig well and truly solidified Ant and Dec as household names but, despite acknowledging how the show ‘shaped a generation’ the Britain’s Got Talent hosts wish they appreciated it more.
In conversation with Fault Magazine ahead of the 20th series of Saturday Night Takeaway, Ant and Dec were asked: ‘Have you ever reflected back on your life’s work and the impact the both of you have had on British TV?’
Responding first, Dec, 48, said they ‘very rarely’ reminisce.
They hosted the children’s morning show with Cat Deeley (Picture: Ken McKay/REX/Shutterstock) The Geordie duo have now cemented themselves are TV giants (Picture: Jack Alexander/Fault Magazine)
‘When you’re in the eye of a storm, I don’t think you really stop and look backtoo much. We did a couple of years ago when we realized we’d been working together as a partnership for 30 years. That allowed us to stop and have a little look back,’ he explained.
‘But you never do it for very long because you are always looking at what’s the next project and what’s the next thing to do.’
Ant, also 48, added that writing their book allowed them to remember their SMTV days, which they hadn’t done before.
‘It’s not until decades later when you look back and go, “It was such a wonderful time in our lives.”
‘Not just on TV, but we were living in London, we were doing the show. We got on really well. All three of us, we would work together, we would party together. You know, it was the late nineties in London.’
Ant and Dec said it makes them ‘sad’ to think about how they didn’t appreciate their earlier TV years (Picture: Jack Alexander/Fault Magazine) The much-loved pair are the latest Fault cover stars (Picture: Jack Alexander/Fault Magazine)
He added that they were the ‘last show that got away with it’ due to the lack of cameras phones and social media.
When leaving the recording session for their audiobook in which they spoke about SMTV, Ant felt ‘sad’.
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‘Not sad because I want to go back there, but it was such a wonderful time, and I felt sad. Did I appreciate it as much as I should have at the time?’, he mused.
‘But I suppose we were mid-twenties; you’re never going to, and it’s notuntil you get a bit older and you look back, do you realize what a special time in TV that was.’
Ant and Dec have always spoken fondly about their days presenting kids’ TV.
Ant and Dec will soon return with the 20th series of Saturday Night Takeaway (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage) They’ve promised the return of some ‘old favourite’ segements (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
In December 2020, they joined in with a one-off reunion documentary titled The Story of SMTV Live, in which the duo and Cat reminisced on times gone by.
The show meant so much to them, in fact, that the series’ iconic Chums sketch was revived for Saturday Night Takeaway just a few years ago.
Ant and Dec are now gearing up for the return of Saturday Night Takeaway before the hugely popular weekend show takes a break following two decades on air.
Teasing what’s to come, the Byker Grove alums have promised a major surprise in store.
‘There is something massive, which we’ve never, ever done before. It’s a big surprise,’ Dec hinted.
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‘And that’s it. That’s all we’re allowed to tell you!’, Ant quipped.
But never fear, because loyal viewers can also enjoy the return of the guys’ ‘favourite items’ and ‘revisiting old items in a different way’.
Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway returns to ITV1 and ITVX soon.
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