TALENT & DEC7

Ant’s pal to host BGT alone after first solo work on Saturday Night Takeaway

DECLAN Donnelly will host the Britain’s Got Talent live finals alone – after his first solo TV appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway when it returns to our screens next week.

ITV bosses have persuaded Dec, 42, to go ahead without Ant, also 42, for the rest of the series after the show takes a break tonight.

It means he will face the cameras without his best friend for the first time since they met 28 years ago, despite a pact between the pair never to work alone.

Whether Ant returns to ITV before I’m A Celebrity in November depends on his court hearing on drinkdriving charges over a three-car smash in South West London last Sunday. He is due before Wimbledon magistrates on April 4 and is currently in rehab.

An insider said: “Dec will present BGT alone. Discussions about the jungle haven’t happened yet but the feeling is Ant might need a clear year off before returning. There’s no rush.”

Suzuki withdrew sponsorship for future series of Saturday Night Takeaway. It said: “It was the correct decision not to broadcast [the show] this weekend. As a car brand we recognise the seriousness of Ant’s charge. We completely support Ant’s decision to seek treatment.”

Pre-recorded BGT auditions featuring Ant will still be shown when it is expected to return on April 14.

Last year Ant sought treatment for his addiction to painkillers after botched knee surgery, while stressing he was “not an alcoholic”. Since then he has also ended his 11-year marriage to Lisa Armstrong.

This week she returned to the BGT set, where she is a makeup artist, to film promotional material.

GLUM Dec looks serious as he returns home from the gym yesterday PRE-RECORDED Ant and Dec with Simon and BGT gang RETURN Ex Lisa was back on BGT

OLD TEAM Ant in BGT line-up last month before his crash