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Declan Donnelly To Host ITV's 'Saturday Night Takeaway' Alone Without Ant McPartlin

Declan Donnelly To Host ITV's 'Saturday Night Takeaway' Alone Without Ant McPartlin

ITV has confirmed that Dec will host Saturday Night Takeaway alone when the show returns on Saturday 31 March.

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Following Ant McPartlin's recent arrest and subsequent return to rehab, ITV has confirmed that his co-host Declan Donnelly will host Saturday Night Takeaway alone when the show returns on Saturday 31 March.

Dec also took to the official Ant and Dec Twitter account, saying: "Whilst I never thought I'd be in this position, after much discussion and careful consideration we've decided that the remaining two shows of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead.

"We made a promise to take hundreds of deserving winners to Florida to watch the series finale, and we will honour that.

"Everyone at ITV and the Takeaway team feels we owe it to the audience to complete the series."

He signed the tweet off by adding: "Dec x."

ITV had already announced that this week's episode of the popular Saturday night show has been cancelled.

An ITV spokesman said: "We can confirm that Saturday Night Takeaway, presented by Declan Donnelly, will return to ITV on March 31, and the series finale will be taking place at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida a week later."

The news comes after Ant decided to re-enter rehab following reports that he hit two cars in his black Mini sports car while driving home after a walk with his dogs.

Ant has now been released from police custody but the incident will no doubt have a knock-on effect on Saturday Night Takeaway and the TV star's other presenting gigs.

According to the Sun, Ant will now be spending months in a long-term rehab programme and will likely be away from television for the rest of the year, including his roles on Britain's Got Talent and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

PA

The TV personality is said to have made the decision himself following talks with advisors at his home in West London.

Ant first went to rehab last year after admitting he was addicted to prescription painkillers and alcohol. He was prescribed the medication following knee surgery in 2015.

At the time, he spoke to the Sun about his troubles, saying: "I feel like I have let a lot of people down and for that I am truly sorry. I want to thank my wife, family and closest friends for helping me through this really difficult time."

After a two-month stint to address his demons, Ant managed to go on to host last year's series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, where he spoke openly about what had happened.

Dec is said to be gutted after it was confirmed that this weekend's episode of Saturday Night Takeaway will be cancelled in the wake of the crash, but it looks like he will have to continue flying the flag for the much-loved duo alone, and potentially for some time.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: uk tv, TV and Film, Celebrity, Ant McPartlin, saturday night takeaway, Declan Donnelly, UK Entertainment