Ant and Dec choke back tears in emotional tribute to viewers during Saturday Night Takeaway finale

ANT and Dec struggled to hold back their tears as they brought Saturday Night Takeaway to an end after 20 years.

The Geordie duo, both 48, presented the two-hour finale episode live from ITV's HQ in London.

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Viewers watched as Ant and Dec took over the whole of Television Centre for the show.

Pop group Girls Aloud were the final ever star guest announcers ahead of their reunion tour.

S-Club, Tony Hadley and Kaiser Chiefs also featured on the show for Saturday Night Takeaway's Singalong Live segment.

The lads also welcomed back back former helpers Ashley Roberts and Kirsty Gallacher for the final decider of the Ant vs Dec challenges.

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The finale wasn't without mishaps as they were forced to apologise after a guest swore live on air while Ant sustained a bloody injury.

As the show came to an end Ant and Dec paid struggled to fight back tears in an emotional tribute to their fans for the success of the show before a montage of their best bits played.

The show ended with a performance from the lads as fireworks lit up the night sky at ITV's base, located at Television Centre in London.

Following the finale, Ant and Dec posted an emotional behind-the-scenes snap on social media.

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They wrote: "Thank you thank you thank you.

"To all the guests, crew, and most importantly you at home who have made the last 20 series so incredible to be part of.

"We are so grateful to everyone who tuned in and we couldn’t have done it without you."

Saturday Night Takeaway first launched all the way back in 2002 before it was shelved in 2009.

Ant and Dec revived and revamped the show in 2013 and it's been a staple of ITV's Saturday offering ever since.

Speaking last year about resting the Bafta-winning format, Ant said: "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.”

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."