So now we know what watching Ant & Dec’s like when it’s just Dec: only half as good!
Who knew eh?
Not the Powers-That-Be at ITV obviously but most of us could have told them without needing to see Declan Donnelly presenting Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Without Ant).
Well done! Declan Donnelly’s first solo show in 30 years proved a triumph; Being half as good as Ant & Dec together meant they came out winners on Saturday Night Takeaway
We didn’t really need to wait 30 years to be sure either.
SMTV Live, Pop Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here had given us more than enough clues.
That’s not to say that Dec came out of it badly. The most famous names on television would give their right arm to be 50% as good as Ant & Dec.
Despite all the palaver in the build-up to the show, Donnelly’s debut as a solo performer was fine.
Nation’s favourite double act: That’s not to say that Dec came out of it badly. The most famous names on television would give their right arm to be 50% as good as Ant & Dec (in 2015)
He did his best: Not the Powers-That-Be at ITV obviously but most of us could have told them without needing to see Declan presenting Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (without Ant)
This was perfectly predictable of course.
Any ghoulish viewers tuning in hoping to see Dec have a car-crash of his own (of the creative variety this time) were always destined to be disappointed (and deservedly so).
Admittedly he looked (understandably) apprehensive at the beginning.
History: SMTV Live, Pop Idol, Britain’s Got Talent, and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here had given us more than enough clues
Horror: Any ghoulish viewers tuning in hoping to see Dec have a car-crash of his own (of the creative variety this time) were always destined to be disappointed (and deservedly so)
But having been in showbiz since he was 12 (doing Byker Grove with, yes you guessed it ITV, Ant McPartlin), Dec was far too slick to have ever contemplated anything other than making Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Without Ant) a success.
Plus he still had the same scriptwriters as usual…
What he didn’t have was Ant, and so Ant & Dec – the nation’s most popular double act since Morecombe & Wise.
Talk about nervous: Admittedly he looked (understandably) apprehensive at the beginning as he took centre stage without his partner of 30 years
Revealed: McPartlin may have royally screwed things up for him with his recent arrest for drink-driving – and subsequent unofficial ‘suspension’
Ant & Dec was what we all wanted of course and he did too I imagine.
McPartlin may have royally screwed things up for him with his recent arrest for drink-driving – and subsequent unofficial ‘suspension’ but Dec’s first reference to what half the country was talking about (and watching for) had enough warmth to suggest he was sticking by his mate.
‘Thank you for that very warm welcome !’ he told the studio audience, giving a typical grin and adding: ‘I’ve got twice the amount of work to do so let’s crack on…’
What are friends for? Dec’s first reference to what half the country was talking about (and watching for) had enough warmth to suggest he was sticking by his mate
An awkward moment inadvertently spitting out a piece of popcorn aside, from there on he cruised through the ninety minutes.
So it was a relief to everyone Dec had a good night (the viewers, ITV, Dec obviously, and Ant no doubt).
The only person to possibly come out of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Without Ant) any better was the villain of the piece himself: Ant McPartlin.
It’s a relief: An awkward moment inadvertently spitting out a piece of popcorn aside, from there on he cruised through the ninety minutes
Thank God: So it was a relief to everyone Dec had a good night (the viewers, ITV, Dec obviously, and Ant no doubt)
He was the only thing that Dec’s performance was really missing and certainly no one came close to replacing him.
ITV’s tactic about how to approach Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Without Ant) was basically to downplay Ant’s absence. A kind of ‘nothing to see here folks !’ attitude.
Ant still featured in the show’s opening credits and later appeared – rather uncomfortably – in a pre-recorded ‘Saturday Knight Takeaway’ sketch.
On his own: The only person to possibly come out of Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Without Ant) any better was the villain of the piece himself: Ant McPartlin
Half an act: He was the only thing that Dec’s performance was really missing and certainly no one came close to replacing him
Donnelly also mentioned him when he showed us Studio 2 – ‘where Ant and Cat and I did Wonky Donkey.’
But no guest presenters, such as Cat Deeley, were foisted on Donnelly in McPartlin’s absence.
Stephen Merchant featured as the guest announcer but the heavily rumoured special appearance by James Corden didn’t materialise (thank heavens) and there were no built-up roles for Scarlett Moffatt or Stephen Mulhern (ditto).
A little help: Stephen Merchant featured as the guest announcer but the heavily rumoured special appearance by James Corden didn’t materialise (thank heavens)
In fact Scarlett hardly appeared at all – unsurprisingly considering the pressure of the night on someone who is still essentially a member of the public with very little training or experience presenting live television.
One thing that we did learn was that Dec should never ever be paired with Davina McCall, who hi-jacked the show with a 15 minute segment promoting her new ITV series ‘This Time Next Year.’
Davina even shoved Dec off to a separate sofa while she staged a mini version of the show’s concept, during which a bloke from Dundee got to sing on television for his mother Diane, who had been in hospital after a heart attack.
Not a fan: One thing that we did learn was that Dec should never ever be paired with Davina McCall, who hi-jacked the show with a 15 minute segment
He had a voice that only a mother could love frankly, and even though he performed ‘Oh What a Night’ with the stars of The Jersey Boys was really only entertaining for her. Well hopefully…
Davina even had the gall to introduce Diane’s daughter with the introduction my next guest…’
Surely it wouldn’t have killed her to say ‘our next guest…’
Dec even apologised for interrupting when she shouted something over from his sofa – showing what a decent, but slightly feeble, solo star he made.
They also elected not to book a U2 or Sting to wow the viewers, sticking with the altogether less riveting Paloma Faith and The Script.
All this was commendable but that’s not to say the ‘carry on as normal’ policy worked. All it did was pile even more weight on Dec’s shoulders and make the absence of Ant & Dec even more glaring.
Keep moving forward: All it did was pile even more weight on Dec’s shoulders and make the absence of Ant & Dec even more glaring
What the show was missing in a word was banter – someone for Dec to spark off: the thing he’s best at in other words.
The debate before his solo show was whether Dec without Ant would be ‘like watching Morecombe without Wise’ or ‘like watching Wise without Morecombe’, which was even worse.
After all of the two Dec is probably the straight man of the duo although the beauty of Ant & Dec is that they are essentially equals.
It started well when Merchant mused from his announcer’s booth: ‘I can’t help but notice a little bit of space on the stage there. Are you sure you don’t want me to come down?’
He then congratulated Donnelly on the news he and his wife were expecting a baby, adding that when he came to visit he would hear the ‘pitter patter of tiny feet – you coming to answer the door.’
Double act: What the show was missing in a word was banter – someone for Dec to spark off: the thing he’s best at in other words
Given the fun they had exchanging quips about the gap in height (Merchant is 6ft 7′), they would have been better giving Merchant the role of Ant for the whole show. Perhaps fitting him in the camera frame was technically just too difficult.
Or perhaps, Dec insisted that if he was going to present it with Ant he would only do it on his own (his version of the Historic Compromise).
After all in their joint autobiography Ant had revealed at the start of their careers: ‘we made an agreement. Whatever happened, we’d be mates forever and neither one of us would ever be on our own out there.’
A lot of effort: Dec insisted that if he was going to present it with Ant he would only do it on his own (his version of the Historic Compromise)
The relief on Donnelly’s face as he brought the show to a conclusion was obvious.
He thanked Paloma Faith, The Script, Stephen Merchant, Davina McCall, the producers, and everyone bar the cleaning lady.
Above all, in typical style, he thanked the fans, or ‘everyone for watching’ at least. There was no ‘best wishes’-type mention for Ant. That would have been too much.
The fact that his final words were ‘thanks for all the support’ was a message to everyone, including – perhaps rather pointedly – the man who should have been standing next to him.
Big thanks! The fact that his final words were ‘thanks for all the support’ was a message to everyone, including – perhaps rather pointedly – Ant