[Andrew]

I think my views on SNT and how tired it can be are no secret but as it works for most viewers I get why they stick with their old favourites - apart from one thing - the annual celebrity mystery drama.  The first one or two were passable enough for what they were but they've generally been awful since then, and even regarded so among the "fans", so it's surprising they persist with them especially as a replacement feature would likely be much cheaper.  Do ITV so desperately need that half hour of filler content over Christmas?

Ant & Dec have spoken about creating some sort of scripted content for years now, weren’t they even in discussions about doing some sort of sitcom a few years ago? I suspect that it fulfils that itch for them.

Edit: Yes. Two shows were in development in 2013: a sitcom titled ‘This is Us’, and a silent comedy format. In 2020 the tabloids said they were in ‘extensive’ talks about creating a sitcom for ITV, but there’s been nothing since.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk 

This interview with Ant and Dec confirms that the annual drama sketch on Takeaway fulfils their acting itch

They also say how they are glad social media wasn’t around during the days of SM:TV Live