Ant and Dec sign £30m 'golden handcuffs' deal with ITV

Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have signed a new three-year “golden handcuffs” deal with ITV thought to be worth £30m, as the broadcaster looks to lock in its biggest TV talent.

The duo, who front some of ITV’s biggest shows including I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here, Britain’s Got Talent and Saturday Night Takeaway, have secured about a 20% increase over the value of their last three-year deal, reportedly worth £25m.

The extension of the deal to 2019 means Ant and Dec, who began their TV career on BBC children’s show Byker Grove in the late 1980s, will take their relationship with ITV to 21 years.

“We are absolutely delighted to be extending our relationship with ITV, to continue on the three shows we love as well as exploring further opportunities both in front of and behind the camera,” said the pair.

Ant and Dec, both 40, are critical to the success of ITV as the broadcaster battles its traditional rivals as well as newer competitors such as Amazon and Netflix. During negotiations they hinted publicly that they might look to leave ITV but then went on to say that a move to Netflix or Amazon was “not necessarily for right now”.

“Ant and Dec are incredibly passionate about television and have that rare ability to connect with audiences of all ages, which has helped make the shows some of the biggest on British TV,” said Kevin Lygo, ITV’s director of television.

The pair joined ITV in 1998, presenting Saturday morning shows SM:tv Live with Cat Deeley and CD:UK. They signed their first exclusive contract with the broadcaster at the end of 2000. After a brief stint at the BBC, presenting BBC1 gameshow Friends Like These, they have been mainstays of ITV’s Saturday night schedule ever since, beginning with Simon Fuller’s Pop Idol in 2001.

The deal comes after Simon Cowell struck a new three-year deal in September worth up to £150m to keep The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent on ITV until at least 2019.

Cowell has come under pressure following a continued slump in ratings in recent years and ITV paying £50m to snatch rival The Voice from the BBC. The mogul has tried to rejuvenate the show, including bringing back Dermot O’Leary, after the poorly received one-season stint by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, and bringing back popular judges Louis Walsh, Nicole Scherzinger and Sharon Osbourne.

The first episode of the latest series of The X Factor hit a 10-year low but the show has since improved its audience figures.

In September, ITV announced that Sir Tom Jones and Will.i.am, former coaches on the BBC’s version of The Voice, Jennifer Hudson and Gavin Rossdale would be coaches on its new-look take on The Voice, which will debut in spring 2017.