The Geordie duo led a star-studded singalong at the end of the two-hour live finale of the much-loved ITV prime-time entertainment hit.
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Emotional Declan Donnelly told the audience: “We’ve truly adored every second . . . what’s happened is beyond our wildest dreams.”
The extravaganza, at Television Centre in White City, West London, included an outdoor musical medley headed by McFly’s Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones.
Lifelong pals Ant McPartlin and Dec, both 48, joined them in a version of hit All About You — rewritten by the rockers as a fond tribute to Saturday Night Takeaway.
S Club, Kaiser Chiefs and Craig David also performed.
A sea of showbiz faces came along to join the big farewell and take part in earlier rehearsals in the sun.
Among them were Girls Aloud, Josie Gibson, Scarlett Moffatt, Ashley Roberts, Davina McCall and Oti Mabuse.
When we started back in 2002, we thought we’d be lucky if we got to do this for a couple of years
Dec
Also there were Kirsty Gallacher, Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Ben Foster, Andi Peters, Tony Hadley and Jordan North.
All joined Ant and Dec on stage for a rendition of Celebration by Kool & The Gang as the pair’s “End of the Show, Show” number.
The whole lot was crowned with a firework display.
Ant said: “This is the kind of show Dec and I watched every Saturday night growing up, so it’s been an honour and a privilege to have made this show and to have been part of your Saturday nights for over 20 years.”
Dec added: “When we started back in 2002, we thought we’d be lucky if we got to do this for a couple of years — what’s happened is beyond our wildest dreams.
“We’ve truly adored every second but there’s one thing we’ve never, ever forgotten and that’s the fact this isn’t our show — it’s your show.
‘Not a dry eye in the house’
“So we’d like to say a massive thank you to you, our incredible audience.”
A show source said: “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Everyone was emotional and there were lots of tears behind the scenes.
“Cheryl was welling up during the dress rehearsals!
“Ant and Dec wanted to ensure it was an extra special celebration for everyone and no expense was spared.”
Ant was supported backstage by pregnant wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46.
And once the cameras stopped rolling, the cast and crew headed out to a party.
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