Saturday Night Takeaway gets Ofcom complaints over Ant & Dec’s drag performance

Saturday Night Takeaway has received Ofcom complaints over Ant & Dec’s end of show drag performance.

Saturday Night Takeaway returned for 2022 last weekend with its brand new series.

The episode closed with all 3 winners of Drag Race UK performing together for the first time on television in a spectacular End of the Show Show.

Appearing on stage were The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Krystal Versace together with Ant and Dec as Lady Antoinette and Miss Donna Lee respectively.

While most were full of praise for the music performance, it’s been revealed 59 official objections have been made to TV watchdog Ofcom.

Speaking to the BBC, make up artist Ellis Atlantis who helped transform Ant & Dec said the show was important for LGBTQ+ representation.

Ellis said: “While I was doing Dec’s make-up I said to him: ‘You might not realise this, but when you go out there in drag and you do this song on a mainstream stage it’s going to change so many young queer children’s lives’. And he totally got it.”

He added: “Having two straight men on mainstream TV doing drag alongside actual working drag queens is such a fabulous thing. They’re showing it’s fun. Anyone and everyone should try drag once in their lives, it’s such a liberating, freeing feeling.

“You get to become someone else while still being yourself.”

Meanwhile the opening episode of the new series also saw Ant & Dec prank Jeremy Clarkson.

The pair created a fake protest at Jeremy’s farm – claiming to be protesting for the rights of soil as they believe soil has feelings.

During the protest someone handcuffed themselves to Jeremy’s car and later on soil was dumped all over his car via a tractor.

Saturday Night Takeaway continues this weekend on ITV.

This week will feature Queen frontman Adam Lambert as the guest announcer while the West End cast of Mary Poppins will perform in the End Of The Show Show.

And coming up across the series are more shenanigans with Oti Mabuse set to feature in Get Out Of Me Ear.

There will also a brand new called Polter Guys in which Ant & Dec become ghost busters. The new adventure will include many celebrity cameos including Rob Delaney, Jo Brand, Kadeena Cox, Tom Allen, Fred Siriex and Roman Kemp.