Ant and Dec 'almost bankrupt' ITV with Limitless Win

Ant McPartlin joked about the pair almost bankrupting ITV after lucky contestants bag the biggest win of the show's series Limitless Win. It is the third run of the game show fronted by the nation's well-loved presenters McPartlin and Dec Donnelly.

Donnelly jested the accountants were looking "greyer than normal" following the big win. Limitless Win is exactly what the title promises: there is no limit to how much prize money is up for grabs. However, the contestants can only bank the money by answering a question correctly. As they climb the ladder, the questions get harder and harder.

Asked whether they were any closer to bankrupting ITV, MailOnline reported a cheeky McPartlin said: "Yes... We've had more people climb up the ladder than ever before and this series sees the biggest win in the show's history. Can I say that?"

Donnelly quipped: "I think you just did. There were a lot of accountants around the studio looking even greyer than normal." MailOnline reported a couple competing in the new series win £1m. The previous biggest win on the show had been £500,000 from the 2022 series.

Winning big naturally excites the TV hosts. Donnelly admitted: "We get so carried away. We're just so invested in every couple that play the game. You can't help but become emotional for them during each game."

Overly excited McPartlin almost broke a desk when jumping on it in this series. He said: "In fact, I actually jumped on the desk this series... I had a very good reason for jumping on the desk, so wait until you watch it."

Donnelly teased what is to come in the new series. He added: "All will be revealed. But you did nearly break the desk... When Ant jumped on the desk, I was really shocked. And it was quite funny when he nearly broke it."

It's not the first time they joked about fears of bankrupting ITV. Previously, McPartlin and Donnelly jested they were worried they would bankrupt ITV with the limitless jackpot rule. McPartlin told The Sun in the past: "We had sleepless nights beforehand and we thought, 'Are we gonna bankrupt ITV'?

"Because there is no limit on what you can win. ITV boss Kevin Lygo was sweating when we pitched it. Then we had contestants playing and you’re like, 'How high will they get? £5m in one go?'. The answer was, 'Yes'. They were braver than I thought."

What is the biggest Limitless Win?

Limitless Win contestants Will and midwife Kathryn, from the 2022 series, bagged £500,000. They had just one lifeline remaining but a strike of luck meant they could answer one final question: July 2022 will mark how many years since Jeff Bezos founded Amazon? Will knew the answer because it was the same year his sister was born in 1994, giving them the answer of 28.

Following their big win, the Limitless Win contestants revealed how they had spent their winnings from the show when appearing on daytime TV show Lorraine. Will said: "We’ve always given away 10% of our salary to charity, so this isn’t going to be any different."

He added: "We’re going to give away at least £50,000 to charities close to our hearts - mental health charities, leukaemia research charities. After that we’ll take our family on holiday, buy that campervan we’ve always wanted and buy a house as well."

When is Limitless Win on?

Limitless Win will return to our screens in the new year with the third instalment of the game show. It first airs on ITV on 6 January at 8.30pm.

Katie Rawcliffe, ITV's head of entertainment commissioning, said: "Limitless Win has very quickly accrued a loyal family audience and become one of our most unique and nail biting game shows. We look forward to more fun on the money ladder in 2024."

It's only been a few weeks since McPartlin and Donnelly were on our screens hosting reality series I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here for three weeks in Australia. They had great fun as usual and after the three weeks, Sam Thompson was crowned King of the Jungle.

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