Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have spoken about their time hosting iconic show SMTV Live, saying they sexed it up to make it a success.
Ant and Dec recently went right back to their very first episode of SMTV Live in a new look at their reunion special with co-host Cat Deeley. It will be part of the duo’s celebrations for 30 years in the entertainment industry.
Looking back on the show, Ant and Dec revealed they feared the programme would be axed after a slow start.
Speaking on ITV’s upcoming The Story Of SMTV Live, they revealed they were initially worried their careers could be at risk and decided to spice up the show.
Ant said: ‘We are the presenters we are today because of that show. We learned how to do it there – and there’s no better breeding ground than Saturday morning television.
‘People were putting pressure on ITV. Other production companies were saying, “Look, they’re not doing it ratings-wise, it’s not great. You should replace it with one of our shows.”’
He added: ‘But it wasn’t great for the first couple of months. There was no atmosphere. We got it wrong initially.’
The pair recognised that something had to change or the show was at risk of being axed.
Dec said: ‘It had been going fairly badly for a long enough time that people were starting to ask questions. “Should this show be on air?”
‘I thought, “If they pull this I’m gonna lose my house. I’ll have to go back to Newcastle and live with my parents again”. We were like, “Oh boy, this is bad!”‘
Thankfully, the show turned out to be a major success after they sauced things up, helping to kick off the presenters’ careers.
Ant, Dec and Cat presented the show from 1998 until 2001, with the likes of Tess Daly and Stephen Mulhern hosting until the programme came to an end in 2003.
It was well known for its zany sketches and games like Wonky Donkey, Challenge Ant and Friends spoof Chums.
The Story of SMTV Live will air on ITV on Boxing Day at 9.25am – its original Saturday morning time slot.
Credit: Original article published here.The post Ant and Dec sexed up SMTV Live to make it a success: ‘We got it wrong initially’ appeared on My Celebrity Life.