Oti Mabuse has taken to Instagram to share the sad reality TV production teams face when shows come to an end. The Strictly Come Dancing star’s emotional comments come as ITV airs the final episode of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
After appearing on Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly’s prime-time show herself for its last series, Oti explained that although the stars on-screen struggle with saying goodbye, the crew behind-the-scenes are also left dealing with a huge “loss” to their livelihoods.
Oti, who was also saddened when her friend Steph McGovern’s Channel 4 show Steph’s Packed Lunch was axed last year, shared a video of her Saturday Night Takeaway experience with singer Olly Murs, before sharing her thoughts on the situation.
The Dancing on Ice judge penned to her 711,000 followers: “It’s always sad to see shows go – it’s not just the people in front on the camera that it affects but a lot of the crew too! TV feeds a lot of families the camera, lights staging, designing, glam – all these people are family and lose something aswell.(sic) A second family if you chose to call it.”(sic)
The loss of Saturday Night Takeaway is also a personal one to Oti, as the ITV show supported her and husband Marius Iepure’s dance studio when the business was tough to manage due to the Covid pandemic.
She added: “@itvtakeaway was one of the shows that fully supported our dance studio when we started – we opened in-between the two lockdowns and starting a business during such a hard time wasn’t easy and we are so going to miss @antanddec and @mattflint23 creating magic in our space.
“And grateful for showing us support – LETS GO OUT IN STYLE @otimariusdancestudio.”
Ant and Dec are taking a break from Saturday Night Takeaway after 20 years of fronting the show.
The TV duo were close to tears as they spoke to fans on social media just before the final episode aired.
They said: “So rehearsals are underway for the last Saturday Night Takeaway,” an emotional Ant said.
He then turned to his co-host Dec and asked: “You alright there?” “I’m OK. Getting through it,” sighed Dec, while looking visibly upset.
“We’re OK. It’s very sad,” Ant admitted to the camera. “It’s a weird day isn’t it,” Dec chimed in. “It’s a really weird day. Really weird,” Ant agreed.
“But it’s going to be a great show. A two-hour extravaganza,” he promised, adding, “Fun times, guys. 7 o’clock. See you later.”