
Britain Get Talking' returns interrupting Saturday Night Takeaway
Ant & Dec conduct awkward interview entirely by text to show the importance of having better quality conversations
Because the better we talk, the better we feel.'
Watch here
ITV and STV's landmark mental health campaign, Britain Get Talking, returned with an unexpected interruption on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, to highlight the positive effects of better quality conversations on our mental wellbeing.
In an interview with Sir Mo Farah, the ITV hosts conducted the beginning of their conversation with the Olympic athlete entirely through texting. Texting is a great way to communicate, but as demonstrated in this segment, sometimes things can get lost in translation.
Ant & Dec picked up on the staggered unnatural nature of the text interview, suggesting to Sir Mo it would be better if they just talked. The duo continued to explain how we're living through a mental health emergency and many of us could use a proper heart to heart. Whether it's on the phone, or socially distanced in person, a good conversation has the power to ease our stress, and reduce our anxiety.
The disruption of the text interview contrasted with the usual chatter and energy of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, from the guests and the audience - it aimed to highlight how making time for better quality conversations can improve communications and outcomes, which in turn can improve mental wellbeing.
Ant and Dec, who have supported Britain Get Talking since they launched it in 2019, said: We are really proud to support the Britain Get Talking campaign which has already encouraged millions of people to connect. This latest part of the campaign is a reminder to think about, not just how much we're chatting, but what kind of conversations they are. After the year everyone's had, the message of Britain Get Talking couldn't be more important.
The Britain Get Talking campaign, which is supported by Mind and YoungMinds and which was developed by Uncommon Creative Studio, kicked off with the text stunt during the show, and will be followed by an advertising campaign running in ITV airtime called The Britain Get Talking How to Chat Show. These 30 second ads will also push to longer content on ITV Hub. The campaign and interview series emphasises the same theme of how better conversations can help, with the line The better you talk, the better you feel.'
The Britain Get Talking How to Chat Show series, hosted by Roman Kemp, Alex Beresford and Rochelle Humes, and featuring Anne-Marie, Charlene White, Dr Ranj, Nicholas Pinnock and Sanjeev Bhaskar, will dive deeper into overcoming barriers and techniques for having better quality conversations through real experiences and stories shared by the celebrity guests.
Singer-songwriter and The Voice UK Coach Anne-Marie gives her top advice for having a good conversation: You need to listen most when people arent saying anything. Even if they look like they're doing okay I just ask them anyway.
Unforgotten actor Sanjeev Bhaskar said: We were brought up by society to believe that as blokes we fix things. My son is 15 and one of the things I encourage him to do is that if he can't talk to me then talk to someone else. Vulnerability shared is actually a strength.
The campaign website - itv.com/BritainGetTalking - also hosts information on how to have better quality conversations, as well as sources of support for viewers who can't rely on family and friends. ITV continued to work in close collaboration with Britain Get Talking charity partners Mind and YoungMinds in developing this campaign, alongside SAMH in Scotland.
Britain Get Talking originally launched in October 2019, by pausing Britain's Got Talent to give people the time back to talk. The initiative launched as part of ITV's ongoing objective to encourage 10 million people to take action and improve their mental or physical health by 2023. When the pandemic hit last year, ITV continuously ran campaigns around mental wellbeing and put Britain Get Talking back at the heart of the channel. Encouraging people at a time of physical isolation, to stay connected and keep talking - which was more important than ever, throughout the multiple lockdowns the UK faced.
Since Britain Get Talking re-launched in March 2020, 6.4 million people have made calls or sent texts to friends and family as a result of the campaign and last year the campaign also raised £1.4 million to support mental health charity helplines, including donations from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Britain Get Talking continues to be the UK's most recognised mental health campaign.
Susie Braun, Head of Strategy for ITV Social Purpose, said, Connecting with other people is one of the best ways we can look after our mental wellbeing. Britain Get Talking has got millions of people to have a chat since it first launched - so in this next campaign we're focusing on not just quantity but quality too. A good conversation can make the world of difference, especially after the tough year we've all had.
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said, However you choose to do it, taking the time to check in and really engage with friends and family is important. The last year has been tough for many of us. Our coronavirus survey of 16,000 people showed that over half of adults and two thirds of young people said their mental health got worse during the pandemic, with many developing problems for the first time. Even as lockdown is easing, we know that many of us will still be feeling the impact. By having open and meaningful conversations with our loved ones we can support each other when we need it most.
Emma Thomas, Chief Executive of YoungMinds, said, We know from young people and parents
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
05/06/2026
The university-wide initiative has pushed their creative content to a new level
Although collegiate athletics at a single institution can contain numerous spo...
05/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
05/06/2026
Synamedia has announced that Lumine Group has agreed to acquire its Video Network business. The company is positioning the transition as the start of a new phas...
05/06/2026
Ateme, Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), and Scaleway have announced a strategic partnership to deliver a cloud-based media supply chain covering ingest through...
05/06/2026
Audinate has announced three new additions to its Dante AVIO Install adapter series: a 4-Channel Analog Input, a 4-Channel Analog Output, and a 2-Ch In/2-Ch Out...
05/06/2026
Sportradar Group AG has announced a multi-year extension of its exclusive global...
05/06/2026
The M6 Group will broadcast FIFA World Cup 2026 matches live and in Ultra High D...
05/06/2026
The Athletic has announced that PGA TOUR highlights will be integrated into its golf coverage beginning with the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. PGA T...
05/06/2026
When the FIFA World Cup arrives in North America in 2026, it will bring more tha...
05/06/2026
FIFA and DAZN have announced the launch of FIFA exclusively on DAZN, consolidating FIFA's content portfolio within DAZN's sports platform. The move fol...
05/06/2026
Telemundo's exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 G...
05/06/2026
Dolby Laboratories and NBCUniversal have announced that Peacock will stream Tele...
05/06/2026
Formula 1 has announced a 10-year extension to keep the Las Vegas Grand Prix on the F1 calendar through 2037. Las Vegas Grand Prix, Inc., Clark County, and the ...
05/06/2026
The broadcast-engineering team overcomes wind, speed, and salt water - and dista...
05/06/2026
Deploying both onsite and remote crews, the company is providing calibrated-came...
05/06/2026
With Inter&Co Stadium unavailable, ESPN's UFL team rebuilt its broadcast pla...
05/06/2026
One of the most exciting and informative events on the SVG annual event calendar is the Regional Sports Production Summit, an annual gathering of industry profe...
05/06/2026
For the race's third year at the historic racetrack, the broadcaster has added cameras and will incorporate multiple drones
The 158th edition of the Belmon...
05/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
05/06/2026
Built from the same recordings as flagship library
Sonuscore's LUX Orchestral Strings has been met with widespread praise since its launch in late 2025,...
05/06/2026
High-end converter, interface & headphone amp upgraded
Said to represent the next evolution of RME's all-in-one reference converter concept, the all-new...
05/06/2026
Win a Soundgas Type 636P & Type G preamps
Soundgas, one of the UK's leading vintage and boutique audio equipment specialists have just announced the lau...
05/06/2026
New leadership of Technology Systems Division at Rohde & Schwarz On July 1, 2026, Hansj rg Herrbold and Andreas H gele will take over as Executive Vice Presid...
05/06/2026
Hitachi and Intel announced a strategic collaboration to explore opportunities t...
05/06/2026
MRI-Simmons and S&P Global Mobility are expanding advanced audience capabilities...
05/06/2026
New Nielsen data shows insurance ad spend grew 11%, while consumers remain highl...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
Appointment to Support Engineering Alignment and Client Experi...
05/06/2026
Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
End to end post in one platform al...
05/06/2026
People Need to Come First When We Use AI
Andy Marken June 5, 2026
0 Comments
It's just surviving. Life's very existence requires destruction....
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...