Saturday Night Takeaway fans praise Declan Donnelly’s “confident” solo effort in series finale
Dec appeared much more calm and collected in his second show without long-time presenting partner Ant
Saturday Night Takeaway’s Florida finale went down an absolute treat with viewers, with many taking to Twitter to praise Declan Donnelly for his “confident” performance in the absence of his long-time presenting partner Ant McPartlin.
It was the second show Ant has missed, following his arrest and charge for drink driving in March.
- Review: Declan Donnelly shines in Orlando as Saturday Night Takeaway series ends
- Saturday Night Takeaway’s Stephen Mulhern is getting his own series of In For a Penny on ITV
While Dec was emotional and a little off-kilter in his first solo appearance, his efforts in the finale impressed fans of the show.
Many viewers were also bamboozled by the fact that they'd been singing the Friends theme tune wrong for all these years, as they discovered during the singalong when "I'll Be There for You" band The Rembrandts performed on the show.
It turns out the lyrics are "when the rain starts to pour" – not "fall".
More like this
The finale was broadcast live from the Universal Orlando Resort, where Dec was joined by co-hosts Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern.
Craig David acted as the show’s resident DJ, Jason Derulo performed in the End of the Show Show, and Denise Richards was the star guest-announcer.
After the show went off air, Dec told the audience the last two episodes had been "fun" but "tinged with sadness".
He asked the audience for a round of applause for Ant, "who is back at home".
Dec added: "He'll appreciate that."
