Ant & Dec FAULT Magazine Covershoot and Interview

Ant & Dec X FAULT Magazine

Photography: Jack Alexander
Styling: Callum Vincent

Grooming: Claudine Taylor
Styling Assistant: Emma Mesquita
Set Design: Victoria Wood

Interview: Miles Holder

Ant & Dec have been a mainstay on British television for over thirty years and while we may be generations removed from Byker Grove and SMTV Live – their lasting impact is still evident today. Their early presenting work eventually led to the creation of their own prime time show, ‘Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway,’ in 2002, and the rest is history.

As we gear up for the final season of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, FAULT Magazine reminisces with the duo on the show’s influence, their journey in the spotlight, and, of course, their FAULTs.

FAULT: Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway is on the horizon, you must be feeling quite reflective. Did you ever think that it would ever last this long?

Ant: God, no. I distinctly remember they were just putting the set in, finishing off the lights in the lead-up to the first episode going out. We were obviously very nervous, still putting the last-minute preparations together. We looked at each other and went, “God, wouldn’t this be amazing if this lasted for a while?” And here we are, 20 series and 22 years later. It feels like a real achievement, and we’re very privileged to have a series that’s lasted this long because not many do.

Dec: It was the show we always wanted to make. We were doing kids’ telly and Saturday mornings, and we always wanted to do a live Saturday primetime show. It was the kind of show that we grew up on, like ‘Game for a Laugh’ and ‘Noel’s House Party’. We ended up getting there and doing it, and it became one of the staples of Saturday Night TV. It feels like the end of an era, but it feels like the right time.

FAULT: While you’re on air, do you have time to think about the massive impact of the show or does it pass by in a blur?

Dec: It’s a little bit of both. One of the big problems we have with Saturday Night Takeaway is, it is constant. So we’re always working on it. We finish the show in April every year, then we all get back together and ask, “What are we gonna do next year?” It’s like a hamster wheel; you just keep going on it, and it keeps going on and on. When you’re in it, you don’t get a chance to look back at what you’ve done because you’re always looking at what’s next. Now we’re going into the final one; we’ve been able to look back at some of the stuff that we’ve done.

Ant: The team, like the researchers, the producers, haven’t necessarily worked on every series that we have. So the only real constant of the show has been us two.

FAULT: Looking back, what would you say was the most surprising moment?

Dec: There’s been quite a few. When you’re doing a show like this that relies so heavily upon the general public and surprising people, you get constantly surprised. We went live to people’s living rooms during the show to surprise a family and this lady got such a big surprise, that she whipped her wig off and started twirling her wig.

Ant: We couldn’t believe it, and neither of us could speak for a few minutes on live TV. We just laughed so much. Sometimes you just gotta let the moments be the moments.

FAULT: Can you give us a hint towards what the “something huge” taking place in the launch episode is?

Dec: There is something massive, which we’ve never, ever done before. It’s a big surprise.

Ant: And that’s it. That’s all we’re allowed to tell you! In the series as well, we’re bringing back all favorite items that we’ve done before. Throughout the series, we’ve had Little Ant and Dec. We’ve had two versions of Little Ant and Dec – we started years ago, and then Little Ant and Dec got taller than us! So we moved them on nicely…they went to live on a farm with plenty of room to run around. <laughs>

Dec: It’s gonna be a mixture of new bits but also looking back at 20 series and revisiting some of the items we did a long time ago and doing them again but in a different way.

FAULT: You’ve taken breaks from Saturday Night Takeaway before. Do you see a future where you do come back, or does it feel like a nice time to turn the page?

Ant: I feel like it’s a nice time to turn the page, and it will give us time to reflect. You can’t think of a different version of Saturday Night Takeaway while Saturday Night Takeaway is on air. You need to be away from it.

Dec: I think what happened when we took a break last time, we started to miss it. We started coming up with lots of ideas and going, “Oh, that would be amazing.” We want to give ourselves that same opportunity this time to miss the show and just see how we feel and where that takes us.

FAULT: Have you ever reflected back on your life’s work and the impact the both of you have had on British TV?

Dec: Very rarely. When you’re in the eye of a storm, I don’t think you really stop and look back too 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. 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: We did when we released a book to commemorate working together for 30 years. And then we had to go and record the audiobook. We’d just finished the chapter on SMTV Live where we talked about when we worked with Cat Deeley on Saturday mornings on ITV. We hadn’t really reflected on that period before, and 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. There were no camera phones or social media, and I feel like we were the last show that kind of got away with it really.

FAULT: It’s interesting how SMTV Live shaped a generation.

Ant: I was driving away from that session and I felt sad, 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? But I suppose we were mid-twenties; you’re never going to, and it’s not until you get a bit older and you look back, do you realize what a special time in TV that was.

FAULT: Do you see what you’ve achieved reflected in up-and-coming performers, or is “Ant and Dec” lightning caught in a bottle?

Dec: I don’t know. There aren’t training grounds available anymore. We had Saturday mornings and kids’ TV, so we were able to cut our teeth and learn our trade. On the other hand, I suppose our whole career has been built on our friendship. That’s one thing that I think sets us apart a little bit – we have a career that’s built on friendship, not a friendship that’s built on a career. It’s a very significant difference.

Dec: There’s not very much of that around. I think that’s partly why people enjoy watching what we do – everybody’s got a best friend. I think people see themselves and their best friends reflected in us.

FAULT: We hate treading old ground, so what’s one aspect of your friendship/career no one has ever asked you about?

Ant: This is one of them! We’ve been interviewed thousands of times over the years, so I’m not sure there’s any question that hasn’t been asked at some stage in our career. We started when we were 13 on Byker Grove, so we kind of slowly got lowered into fame. It wasn’t overnight, and we didn’t have social media blowing it up everywhere so we could kind of get used to it. So I think that’s really helped us stay somewhat levelheaded. You’re never gonna be completely normal when you’ve got a job in television, but I think we’ve been very lucky that we haven’t changed too much.

Dec: Not saying we’re like Macaulay Culkin becoming famous at five years old and being child stars, but I think it was nice being drip-fed that fame. So in answering your question, <laugh> I’m not sure there is a question we haven’t been asked.

Ant: No one has ever slept together…Has anybody ever asked us that? I don’t think so. There you go, no one has ever asked us if we’ve slept together!

Dec: Oh…

Ant: There you go. You don’t have to answer it, Dec! <laugh>

Ant: People have always insinuated.

Dec: It’s funny, people have insinuated and speculated.

FAULT: I’ll leave it to whoever’s doing the next interview. When you look back on your career, what’s been the most challenging aspect that you’ve had to overcome creatively?

Ant: I think for any pauses we’ve had, whether we pause Saturday night takeaway consciously or when I had a break from TV for a while. I think anytime you come back together, you have to almost relearn each other again but because of that, you have a deeper respect for one another and a deeper love for one another. I think that is one of those challenges we’ve overcome. I think they have been really helpful in our friendship and in our career.

Dec: We started working together when we were 13, and we became friends very quickly. But, you know, we’re both, were are both 49 this year. We’re obviously not the same people that we were when we were 13. So throughout our career, you know, we’ve both changed. But being able to maintain that friendship doesn’t come naturally. Sometimes you have to work with friendships, and sometimes you have to compromise and sometimes you have to give each other space and time and whatever.

FAULT: What’s next for Ant and Dec?

Ant: A lot, we do the show and then Britain’s Got Talent, but on a more personal level, 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. We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now. You know, like I say, “we’re turning 49, and what do we want to do next? What’s the next phase of our career?” And we’ve got lots of ideas and lots of offers on the table, lots of options of things we can do. But it’s working on what we do next and where the next chapter begins. So that’s what we’re gonna do when Saturday Night Takeaway is out of the way. We’ll sit down, take a bit of time, and reevaluate everything.

FAULT: What is your FAULT?

Dec: I’ll get there before Ant gets there. I’m a very, very bad timekeeper. I am never on time for anything. I’m always at least, well, I’m always at the most five minutes late.

Ant: It was 10 today. And that’s being reasonable.

Dec: I’m a very bad timekeeper. Well, I think, I think it is. I think it’s a thing. I think it’s genetic ’cause my mom is exactly the same. My mom is a terrible timekeeper, and I get it from her. So I am, yeah, I’m awful.

Ant: I’ve probably got lots of FAULTs, but I swear too much and I’m really surprised I haven’t sworn on television. I hope I’m not tempting fate and clear. I’m touching a lot of wood here. I need to re-look at my vocabulary because, you know, I’ve got kids, and he’s a potty mouth.