Ant and Dec were ‘mind blown’ how inspirational their Saturday Night Takeaway drag act was

Words: Alastair James; pictures: Instagram/@antanddec

Ant and Dec have said the reaction they had to their drag act on Saturday Night Takeaway was “mind-blowing”. 

The presenting duo won the BAFTA for Entertainment Programme at the 2022 Virgin Media BAFTA Awards on Sunday (8 May) 

Ant and Dec were widely praised for performing as ‘the Angels of the North’ – Lady Antoinette and Donna Lee respectively – in February, including by one mum who said they’d shown everyone it’s “ok to just be who you want to be”. 

“We wanted it to be respectful of the art form”

Speaking to journalists after their win on Sunday, Declan Donnelly said of people’s reactions: “We were quite moved by how inspirational people found it.”

He revealed they had wanted to “do it right” and “to be respectful of the art form”. He added, “We didn’t want it to look silly and like we’d slapped on a bit of lipstick and eye shadow and then walked out in wonky heels.

“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right. It’s an art form and a respected art form. So that was what we set out to do.”

Dec then said that they weren’t ready for how people responded to it. 

“We got a lot of messages from people saying how inspirational they had found it and how it had given them the courage to be themselves and that was something we hadn’t really catered for. We hadn’t thought that would be the case.

“It was mind-blowing and surprising but it was quite moving as well. I’m proud and happy that people got so much out of it,” he said. 

Asked if the ‘Angels of the North’ would be returning any time soon Ant McPartlin teased: “Do you know what? I really did enjoy doing it, so… possibly…”

What a day at werk! Thank you Krystal Versace @ShadyLawrence @THEVIVIENNEUK for performing together for the first time for #SaturdayNightTakeaway! How did Lady Antoinette and Miss Donna Lee do?? 💅 @RuPaul #DragRaceUK pic.twitter.com/HymCXMviDW

— antanddec (@antanddec) February 19, 2022

During the performance in February, the presenting duo were joined by RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winners The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney, and Krystal Versace for an explosive rendition of their charity single ‘We Werk Together’

In a now deleted video message Twitter user ‘mummabear0803’, whose son has tourettes, thanked Ant and Dec afterward. 

“He’s 12-years-old and he’s been bullied all his life. And what you’ve done tonight is just… amazing. It’s going to show everybody around the world it’s ok to just be who you want to be. And everybody’s got freedoms and everyone’s got rights and everyone deserves respect and kindness,” she said.

“And all those kids that are going to go to school [on] Monday and think twice before they bully someone else because of what you’ve done is really truly amazing,” she added.

Watch the duo’s performance below:

The Attitude May/June issue is out now.