In a tabloid-rocking, nation-shocking development, Dec will appear without Ant this weekend. Troubled presenter Anthony McPartlin is absent from our screens following his drink-driving arrest and return to rehab, leaving best buddy Declan Donnelly to helm ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway on his own.

However, devotees shouldn’t despair. Why? Well, because the third star of the show is the format itself. And as Meat Loaf once sang, two out of three ain’t bad.

Back in 2002, still in their mid-twenties, Ant and Dec’s TV presenting CV was limited to children’s hit SM:TV, BBC gameshow Friends Like These and one series of Pop Idol, plus some holiday cover on The Big Breakfast. They drew on all this experience, along with memories of the light entertainment shows they’d loved growing up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to come up with an old-fashioned, shiny-floored variety extravaganza.

Their creation was live, anarchic, deceptively innovative, raucous and restless, with an ever-evolving raft of regular features: the likes of “Little Ant & Dec”, “End of the Show Show”, “Ant & Dec Undercover” and “Ant vs Dec”, plus lots more that you’ve forgotten but which were fun at the time.

Whatever the precise content, though, certain elements stayed constant: A-list guests, dangerous live stunts, prizes, pranks, lots of dressing up, even more gags – and a climax which sees an audience member attempt to “grab the adverts” (“You don’t just watch the ads, you win them!”) and take home the proceeds, hence the programme’s title. McPartlin and Donnelly not only created and host it themselves but also act as the show's executive producers.