Ant & Dec Considering Sitcoms And Theatre After ITV Contract Expires

Ant & Dec is one of the most successful combinations of personalities in TV history, with the pair reportedly earning five figures each every single day. However, they’re not content with sitting on their laurels when their contract with ITV comes to an end, and are exploring the possibility of branching out into sitcoms or maybe even the stage.

Their ‘golden handcuffs’ deal with ITV expires at the end of 2016, and it’s likely that the pair will refuse a similar exclusive contract with the broadcaster in order that they can work with others, while still fronting their hit shows such as ‘I’m A Celebrity…’ and ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

After they scooped a Royal Television Society award on Tuesday evening (March 22nd), 40 year old Declan Donnelly told The Mirror: “We haven’t decided yet, me and Ant have talked but we haven’t talked to ITV, we normally do it before we go off to the jungle for ‘I’m A Celebrity’. We will wait until ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ finishes and we will think about it.”

Recent reports have maintained that Dec and his long-time presenting partner, Ant Mcpartlin, also 40, are eager to do things outside of ITV once the deal they signed in 2013 runs out, and this interview reveals the extent of their ambition. They’re considering doing live tours or a sitcom, or possibly even a move into theatrical productions.

More: Ant & Dec join Neil Patrick Harris as guests on U.S. version of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’

Donnelly continued: “Our three big shows and the shows we love are on ITV. ITV is our home and we have been very lucky with them. But we are also evaluating and looking at other things.”

“We loved doing ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ on tour so we are looking at the possibly of another tour or even theatre. We could do something with comedy in the West End, we are throwing around ideas. These days it is not just ITV, BBC, Netflix, Amazon, it’s all kinds of things. We just love doing things live.”

They’ve apparently been inspired by their popular ‘Who Shot Simon Cowell?’ sketch to start developing scripts of their own.

“We are also looking to do a comedy next year. It is something we've been discussing for years. There is stuff down on paper now,” Dec confirmed. “There is stuff down on paper now… …we hope to do a pilot next year and possibly some other pilots too.”

More: Ant & Dec make £23,000 per day. Just think about that.