ANT & DEC TAKEAWAY pounds 20million ITV DEAL; Geordie duo 'tighten belts' as the credit crunch bites.

Byline: Vicky Shaw

ANT and Dec have signed a new two-year deal with ITV worth pounds 10million each - and that's a 10 per cent CUT in their wages.

The Geordie presenters have been working on a family challenge game show with the working title Push The Button, which will air next year.

And the new exclusive contract extends their long-term relationship with ITV to December 2011.

Ant said: "We are delighted to sign with ITV for another two years to continue to make the programmes we love like Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain's Got Talent and I'm A Celebrity... There is no better home for our shows."

Dec added: "We're particularly excited about the new media opportunities which will allow us to make fresh and exciting content for online, and also launching our brand new entertainment show Push The Button in 2010."

Fame

The cheeky duo rose to fame as teenage actors on BBC children's show Byker Grove before a brief stint as pop singers.

They joined ITV in 1998, presenting the Saturday morning shows SM:TV Live and CD:UK, and they have been exclusively signed to ITV since 2000.

Their production company Gallowgate is behind the format for Push The Button. But at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August, Ant revealed the pair were prepared to take a pay cut as recession hit the industry.

He said: "You have to be realistic. If the whole of the industry is suffering it would be naive to assume that we would not suffer too."

Ant also explained the idea behind the new show, saying: "Loosely, it will be us and two families competing."

ITV director Peter Fincham said: "Ant and Dec are without question two of the UK's most talented television stars who have helped make ITV the home of entertainment."

CAPTION(S):

CHEEKY: Ant and Dec push all the buttons