Ant and Dec detail how £25k prank on Simon Cowell nearly failed

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Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s Saturday Night Takeaway has recently returned to ITV with a new host of competitions, hilarious sketches and jaw-dropping performances. The long-standing show previously saw the famous TV duo prank Britain’s Got Talent’s very own Simon Cowell with the help of a huge budget.

More than a decade ago, the pair had been filming Pop Idol with the music mogul and decided to fly to the US to pay him a visit on US version American Idol.

They went undercover as rappers auditioning for the show, with the help of costumes, wigs and fake accents.

However, things took a turn when some of the prosthetics they were set to use in their disguise got stopped at customs.

They also feared their cover would be blown after American Idol judge Paula Abdul chose them for a pre-audition interview amidst the crowds.

In a new interview, Dec began: “[Simon] had since become a huge star on American Idol, so we were like, ‘How funny would it be to fly to the States and audition for American Idol undercover?’ But there was no fast-track to the front, we had to queue and do the whole American Idol experience.

“Then, Paula Abdul turned up with a camera crew, and she pointed to me and asked me to do an interview.

“I was thinking, for f**k’s sake, I’m not real! I’m here from England – so, I had to do a whole interview, in character, for Paula Abdul’s Access Hollywood thing.

“I was like, this has gone so far down a wormhole,” Dec added to the Huffington Post.

Ant continued: “We were nervous about not being able to do the accent for too long, we thought as soon as we walk in we might not even get to the song, Simon might just go, ‘I know it’s you two’.”

Dec revealed: “It didn’t help our nerves when, the night before we were due to fly, the executive producer rang us up and left a message on our answer phones at home, and said, ‘Don’t forget, this cost 25 grand, so don’t balls it up, byeeeee’.”

But despite their nerves and willingness to cancel the prank, the pair managed to stay in character and surprise Simon.

The famous TV duo returned earlier this month with a live studio audience and some of the UK’s biggest celebrities.

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The series returned to ITV1 and ITVX on February 25 for a highly-anticipated 90-minute instalment.

The hosting duo teased the new series last month with a hilarious trailer inspired by ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response).

They said: “We’re here, in your ear, to make this moment happier,” while Ant rustled a bag of popcorn and Dec crinkled a golden ticket.

“It’s guaranteed to cause a sensation, I can feel it in my thighs,” they said.

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the series making a return.

Heidi-Jade Sargent said: “Ahhhhh I’m so excited it’s my absolute favourite show ever!” [sic]

Dean Haynes shared: “Yaaaaaaaa!! When can the family get tickets!! Something decent on the tele!!” [sic]

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