Girls Aloud kicked off the latest episode of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway in style, with the quartet acting as star guest hosts for the ITV show’s swan song.
The ITV soap is exiting in style with its biggest show in its 22-year history, after Ant and Dec confirmed they were putting it on hold again.
Ahead of kicking off their reunion tour next month, Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts wowed in a variety of stunning looks.
Flaunting her incredible figure, Cheryl donned a sheer black lace jumpsuit and leather pants with her shiny brunette tresses pulled back into a curly ponytail.
While Nicola opted for a revealing pale pink dress, Kimberley donned a low-cut black suit.
Girls Aloud kicked off the latest episode of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway in style, with the quartet acting as star guest hosts for the ITV show’s swan song.
Ahead of kicking off their reunion tour next month, Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts wowed in a variety of stunning looks.
To complete the band’s glamorous ensembles, Nadine was dressed to impress in a daring white cutout dress.
Opening the show, Girls Aloud joked that Declan Donnelly had agreed to pay for the entire finale, earning applause from the audience but a reaction of disbelief from the presenter himself.
It’s certainly a coming-of-circle moment for the band, who appeared on Takeaway several times during their heyday, as well as being teased in a hilarious Undercover segment.
The group confirmed the tour news in November last year and are set to go on tour next month and June to commemorate 21 years since their formation.
The show will reportedly include nods to her iconic looks, including Jean Paul Gaultier’s red sequin dresses and bustier ensembles from her 2013 greatest hits show, Ten: The Hits Tour, her sixth tour.
Sources told The Sun: “This tour is a celebration of Girls Aloud’s music and a tribute to their late bandmate Sarah Harding, so it will be full of nostalgia…
“They’ve been taking trips down memory lane looking at photos from their previous tours and using their outfits from back then as inspiration…
“Some of the vintage looks were really sexy, including the Gaultier-inspired corset dresses and bright red sequin dresses…
Saturday Night Takeaway goes out in style with its biggest show in its 22-year history, after Ant and Dec confirmed they were calling it quits again.
Flaunting her incredible figure, Cheryl (far left) donned a sheer black lace bodysuit and leather pants with her shiny brunette tresses pulled back into a curly ponytail.
While Nicola (second left) opted for a revealing pale pink dress, Kimberley (second right) donned a low-cut black suit.
Completing the band’s glamorous ensembles, Nadine (far right) was dressed to impress in a daring white cutout dress.
‘They want to make sure there are nods to these. “It has been very exciting for them to start putting the finishing touches on the tour and see it all come together.”
Announcing the tour in November, the quartet revealed that the group has not recorded new music but just wants to celebrate their back catalogue.
Cheryl revealed they had been discussing plans for some time but put the idea on ice when Sarah Harding, who died in September 2021, was diagnosed with cancer.
She said in a statement: “We all started talking about the possibility of doing something to celebrate Girls Aloud’s 20th anniversary a few years ago. The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing we would celebrate.
‘But when Sarah became ill, all priorities changed. She passed away a year before her anniversary and she just didn’t seem right to me, she seemed too soon to me.”
The group plans to use the tour to “celebrate” their late friend.
It comes after Ant and Dec admitted leaving the iconic show wasn’t an easy decision, as they spoke about their emotional farewell during an appearance on Friday’s This Morning.
Chatting to hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary about the final show, the pair explained that it seemed “the right time” to leave the iconic show “on a high”.
Praising its 22 years of broadcasting, Dec said: “When we made the decision to call it quits – and we did it because 20 series seemed like a good time to do it – we told our management first.”
“We said, ‘We want to rest, but we reserve the right to change our minds several times between now and then,’ and we did. But I think in our hearts we know it’s the right thing to do.”
Ant agreed, repeating: “For the show and for us personally, it’s the right thing at the right time.”
As they teased a series of highly anticipated surprises for the big finale, the Geordie duo admitted they are unsure if the show will ever appear on screen again.
Opening the show, Girls Aloud joked that Declan Donnelly had agreed to pay for the entire finale, earning applause from the audience.
The show’s combination of live fun, high energy and good feeling has seen the format win multiple BAFTA and National Television Awards since its launch in 2002.
Appreciating his memories on the show, Ant said: “You want to make sure you include enough new and fun things so it’s not just a look back.”
“We don’t know when the show will be back and we don’t know if we’ll ever do Ant versus Dec again, so whoever wins is the ultimate!” Dec added.
The presenting pair also admitted there will be “tears” once the show is over, and that it has been “pretty tough” in the final few days before broadcast.
Ant said: ‘I’m sure there will be tears. It’s been pretty difficult this week knowing it’s the last week of rehearsals, script meetings and all that.
‘We have kept this a secret until now. Until we got here and saw the scenario, we were like, oh, it looks pretty final.”
Last year, Ant and Dec announced they would be leaving Saturday Night Takeaway ahead of series 20, surprising fans across the country.
The couple will continue their exclusive working relationship with ITV, presenting hit shows including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Limitless Win, all of which air on ITV1 and ITVX.
Ant said at the time: “We love doing Saturday Night Takeaway, but hitting the 20 series milestone seemed like the perfect time to pause for a moment and catch our breath.”
Dec added: ‘We still have a momentous 20th series to look forward to first, so we’ll do our best to go out (for now) with a bang in 2024!’
Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, produced by Lifted Entertainment (part of ITV Studios) and Miter Studios, will return next year for its 20th series.
The series has spawned numerous iconic segments, including Win the Ads, Undercover, Get Out Of Me Ear, The End of Show Show and The Happiest Minute of the Week.