'Good to be back!' - Ant and Dec surprise diners at Jai Lounge St Annes after Britain's Got Talent auditions

Celebrity duo Ant and Dec said it was ‘good to be back’ when they popped in to St Annes’s Jai Lounge Indian Cuisine

On a break from filming Britain’s Got Talent in Blackpool, Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly treated themselves to Kashmir lamb and lamb biryani, crispy aubergine and masala chips with friends at the Lytham restaurant.

And owner Ben Vara said they were ‘two amazing guys, very down to Earth’ and that they were more than happy to have their pictures taken and chat to diners who couldn’t believe they eyes when they saw the TV stars come in.

Ben, who has run the popular Indian restaurant for three and half years, said: “They did book and we knew they were coming. They came last year as well and said it was good to be back. They absolutely loved the food and said they would be disappointed to go back to normal chips after tasting the masala chips.

“They were so friendly, so down to Earth and the atmosphere in the restaurant was electric, it was brilliant. The look on people’s faces when they saw them, they were absolutely surprised! The whole thing was so positive, I couldn’t sleep that night. I’ve had so many phone calls from people, everyone was happy.

Cooking for such high profile celebrities could have added extra pressure on the chefs but Ben assured they weren’t nervous.

“Our chefs are very professional with 60 years experience between them. They are very talented and all from Northern India and have had very senior posts in India,” said Ben, with the visit of the famed presenting duo far from the first time the restaurant had served a famous face.

“We’ve had Sherrie Hewson in, Les Dennis and Katie Hopkins too,” he added. “We couldn’t have asked for a better evening.”