Ant & Dec to bring back Little Ant & Dec for Saturday Night Takeaway

And the search has now begun for new youngsters to take on the roles, with ITV saying that it is looking for "two Geordie lads between 5-7 who are cheeky little chappies".

Applications are open from now until 1st October on the ITV website, with applicants encouraged to complete an entry form with as much detail as possible and submit a video showcasing their personality.

Ant & Dec themselves announced the news in a video, with Dec saying: "As you know the next series of Saturday Night Takeaway is our 20th and we're working around the clock to make it bigger and better than ever."

Ant continued: "Now, the breaking news is... we're bringing back Little Ant & Dec!"

Dec then went on to say that there is "a little bit of a problem" with the news – that the old Little Ant & Dec are not little anymore and that they would need new kids to rise to the task.

And they both highlighted that it was of paramount importance for the applicants to be cheeky, with Dec saying: "The cheekier the better!"

The original Little Ant & Dec – James Pallister and Dylan McKenna-Redshaw – were first introduced in the show's second season back in 2003 and featured on the series until the sixth run three years later.

The segment was then revived in 2013 from the 10th season onwards with Neil Overend and Haydn Reid this time taking on the roles until they departed the show at the end of season 14 in 2017.

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It was announced back in May that the 2024 season would be the show's last for a while, with Ant explaining that "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!"

The show previously took a hiatus between 2009 and 2013, and fans of the pair will still be able to get their fix on a variety of other shows including I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Britain's Got Talent and Limitless Win which they will continue to present.

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