No Ant, no problem! Dec’s relief after solo show
THEIR friendship began on the set of Byker Grove nearly 30 years ago – and neither had made a solo TV appearance since.
So you can understand why Declan Donnelly admitted he had been losing sleep over his first Saturday Night Takeaway without sidekick Ant McPartlin.
However, the 42-year-old certainly held his own in the ITV studio this weekend. Family and friends congratulated him on making it through, while fans said he had done his presenting partner proud.
McPartlin was charged with drink-driving and returned to rehab last month – forcing Donnelly to make the difficult choice over whether to host solo or not.
But, with support from presenter Davina McCall, comedian Stephen Merchant and Takeaway regulars Stephen Mulhern and Scarlett Moffatt, the father-to-be oversaw an almost seamless 90-minute show. His only mishap? Dropping a carton of popcorn.
After the show he was pictured receiving congratulatory hugs from a female friend backstage. His pregnant wife Ali Astall, 40, was also there to support him. Donnelly had made a series of references to McPartlin’s absence during the show, joking that he had ‘twice the amount of work to do’ and that ‘it’s not going that badly’.
But fortunately for diehard fans of the duo, his sidekick wasn’t entirely absent – McPartlin still appeared in the opening titles and a prerecorded sketch, Saturday Knight Takeaway, which also starred Joanna Lumley.
Fellow broadcasters Piers Morgan, Susanna Reid and Dermot O’Leary later congratulated Donnelly on social media.
O’Leary tweeted that Donnelly had ‘nailed it’, while Miss Reid wrote: ‘He’s really easing into it and getting more comfortable as he realises how much the audience is with him.’
Hundreds of viewers said he had done McPartlin ‘proud’. One fan wrote on Twitter: ‘Well done must have been hard you were amazing. Be proud and I expect Ant was proud of you too. Now bring on Florida [a reference to the final show in the series next week].’
Donnelly tweeted afterwards: ‘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.’
The episode drew an audience of 7.2 million – the second highest this series.