Ant and Dec were handed a bitter blow on Sunday night after Saturday Night Takeaway was beaten to one of the most prestigious TV BAFTA gongs by Joel Dommett’s The Masked Singer.
If you ask me, it’s the first sign that the reign of TV’s one-time golden boys is starting to unravel and come to an end. All good partnerships go through their ups and downs (ahem, Holly and Phil), and Ant and Dec’s has had perhaps more than most.
But being beaten to the Best Entertainment Programme gong by Stephen Hendry dressed as a wheelie bin full of rubbish has got to hurt!
Ant and Dec BAFTA blow first nail in the coffin
The boys were in the audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday night (May 14), doubtless clasping their acceptance speech and surely thinking the award was in the bag.
But the committee members at BAFTA clearly had other ideas, handing the gong to another ITV show instead. Ant and Dec painted smiles on their faces as they clapped Joel from the audience. But behind the grins they surely must’ve been thinking WTF?! A lot of fans were.
If you ask me, this TV BAFTA loss is just the start of the boys’ slide from the top of the TV presenting pile.
“Has the world gone mad?!” asked one. “Wow, The Masked Singer beat Saturday Night Takeaway!” said another. “It’s the worst one that could have won!” declared a third.
They’re not wrong, surely it would’ve been a less bitter pill to swallow if Strictly Come Dancing had beaten them to the award. But a Jacket Potato belting out a tune? If you ask me, it’s the first nail in the coffin for the boys.
Time for a change
Much like Bradley Walsh, the boys are everywhere. Yes, they’ve done good and come a hell of a long way since their Byker Grove days. But BAFTA clearly thinks it’s time for a change – and I reckon TV networks should follow suit.
Now I’m not saying banish Ant and Dec from TV altogether. I’m A Celebrity wouldn’t be the same without them. But wouldn’t it be nice to see Dec present something solo? Or Ant front a hard-hitting documentary about his troubles?
Just because they’ve always presented together doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. I think after this BAFTA snub that we’ll start to see things change. Maybe, just maybe, they won’t win that billionth NTA this year. Maybe they won’t be given the Saturday night prime-time slot on auto-pilot. And maybe other presenters like Joel Dommett will be given more TV opportunities – because the industry clearly loves him.
If you ask me, the boys’ time is up. And this TV BAFTA loss is just the start of their slide from the top of the TV presenting pile. And it’ll be pretty interesting viewing to see what happens next.
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