Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway surprises teacher with Lake District holiday home on Windermere

The latest series of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway kicked off with teacher Kath Crawley being rewarded for her 32 years of dedication with a brand-new holiday home at the Avon Wood Holiday Home Park in Newby Bridge, on the shores of Windermere.

The big reveal, which had Mrs Crawley pictured outside, believing she was to take part in an ITV News interview about her career as a teacher, was the culmination of months of undercover filming during her last year before retiring, as the Saturday Night Takeaway team staged a series of ‘Operation Thank You Miss’ surprises featuring former pupils of the teacher.

SHOCKED: Mrs Crawley speaking to Ant and Dec

The TV team had heard how much Mrs Crawley loves caravan holidays in the Lake District and had been saving up for years for a new holiday home.

To make her retirement dreams come true producers approached holiday home company Willerby, who as well as donating a two-bedroom model from the Willerby Brookwood range, have agreed to cover the cost of transporting it to the holiday park and installation on site, taking the total value of the gift to £47,000.

Mrs Crawley’s current pupils, at St Thomas’ CE Primary School in Wigan, appeared by video link on the primetime show to say a very special thank you to their favourite teacher.

MESSAGES: From her current pupils

They also suggested retirement gifts, ranging from a bottle of gin to an inflatable unicorn, which were shown in her new holiday home.

PRESENTS: Lots of presents in the new holiday home

And viewers heard that Mrs Crawley had taught over 1,300 pupils, inspired generation after generation of youngsters and been at the heart of her local community across four decades.

A tearful Mrs Crawley told Ant and Dec: “Teaching has been my life. Being a parent is the best job in the world, but being a teacher is just like being a parent but to a lot more children.”

GIFT:Inside the gifted holiday home

Willerby CEO, Peter Munk, said: “Mrs Crawley is such an inspirational and deserving person.

“It’s a pleasure to make her retirement dreams a reality and to be part of such an amazing surprise shared with millions of TV viewers.

“We’re looking forward to delivering the Brookwood and handing Mrs Crawley the keys. We know she will enjoy many happy times in her fantastic new home from home.”