Ant and Dec rehearse from home after it’s revealed Saturday Night Takeaway will run without audience

It was confirmed on Tuesday that Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will record without a studio audience, for the first time in the show’s history. 

And following the announcement, the show’s hosts shared a snap of their virtual script meeting as they rehearsed their ITV show from their own homes on Thursday.

The presenters, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, both 44, waved to the camera alongside their crew while Ant snapped the picture on his phone.

The presenting duo captioned the image: ‘A quick hello from a very different #SaturdayNightTakeaway script meeting! 

‘We’ll massively miss our studio audience but the show will go on this weekend. Stay safe everyone, we’ll see you on the telly this Saturday.’ 

After seeing the snap, one eagle-eyed follower playfully noted that Ant and Dec were positioned the ‘wrong way around’, in the video chat.

Ever since their presenting careers began, Ant has typically stood on the left hand side while Dec takes the right, however in the snap they were flipped. 

The show made the decision to prioritise the ‘well-being of everyone involved’, despite it depending heavily on the atmosphere on set.

In a statement, ITV said: ‘Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead this weekend without a studio audience. 

‘Our priority is safeguarding the well-being of everyone involved. The show will be made with a reduced production crew and in accordance with the latest guidance from Public Health England. 

‘The team are looking forward to bringing our viewers a brilliant show on Saturday evening.’

Earlier in the day, a TV news account on Twitter posted: ‘UPDATE: It’s been confirmed that #SaturdayNightTakeaway and #TheVoiceUK will continue to air WITHOUT a studio audience for the next 3 weeks.

‘The Voice this weekend has already been recorded, but for the 2 live finals it’s still unknown if even the coaches will be present. #COVID19.’

Shows such as The Jeremy Vine Show, Loose Women and Celebrity Juice have all halted having studio audiences in attendance for the time being.

The coronavirus gag scenes on Takeaway at the weekend left some viewers furious, as the comedy duo were joined by a 200-strong live studio audience in the London Television Centre for the night’s episode.

Ant also jokingly asked for some hand sanitiser before walking down the studio stairs to greet co-host Dec with a foot tap and an elbow bump to laughs from the crowd.

Taking a more serious tone, the pair then addressed the cancellation of the series’ finale episode in Disneyworld, Florida.

Ant said: ‘I’m sure like us you’ve all been following the news, and in the current climate nothing is more important than people’s health.

‘Absolutely,’ added Dec. ‘And because of this we unfortunately won’t be able to bring you the final show of the series from Florida.’