DEC’S SOLO TV TRIUMPH... BUT HE VOWS TO STAND BY TROUBLED ANT
TV host Declan Donnelly has vowed that he will not go it alone despite his smash-hit solo performance on Saturday night as host without Ant McPartlin.
The star received a standing ovation from fans after he helmed ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway for the first time without his troubled partner.
At its peak, 8.6 million viewers tuned in – making it the most watched of this series.
But despite his success Dec, 42, has told friends that his solo stint is strictly temporary.
He is said to have vowed to stand by Ant, 42, who last month went back into rehab after being charged with drink-driving after a car crash.
Dec’s success will have calmed the jitters of TV bosses who have built their schedules around the duo to an unprecedented degree.
But a friend revealed that Dec was worried as much about his ability as a solo star as being disloyal to his best friend.
“Performing without Ant has been a huge deal for Dec, he has been nervous all week,” they said.
“He has promised Ant he has absolutely no plans to replace him and he will save his role by going it alone until he gets better. While it has been a difficult time for Dec, he just wants his friend back.
“He has made assurances that there is no rush and he most certainly isn’t going to ditch him. They are in this together.”
Despite his skill and experience, Dec was clearly nervous at times during the 90-minute broadcast.
He told fans on Twitter after the show: “Thanks for all your lovely messages tonight, they are very much appreciated, I’m glad you enjoyed the show. I didn’t sleep an awful lot last night so I’m off to bed! Night y’all.”
Apart from a brief 1994 sighting as a stable boy, it was Dec’s first solo TV appearance since the pair teamed up in 1990 on BBC One children’s show Byker Grove.
Meanwhile Ant is due to appear before Wimbledon magistrates on Wednesday and has taken a step back from TV commitments to seek treatment. He first entered rehab last June for addiction to prescription painkillers.
Sources then let it be known that Ant would be back in time to present I’m A Celebrity last November, but there have been no such assurances this time.
While his net worth has been put at £62million, Ant’s stay in rehab could cost him £3.3million in lost earnings on shows including Britain’s Got Talent.