Ant on drink drive charge
Troubled star starts rehab
TV host Ant McPartlin has been charged with drink-driving.
The star, 42, last night checked into rehab after being quizzed by police. Best pal Declan Donnelly had visited him earlier. A source said: “It was a very emotional meeting. Dec gave Ant lots of hugs.”
ANT McPartlin has checked into hospital for rehab, following “hugs and reassurances” at a reunion with Declan Donnelly.
The troubled star, 42, was last night seen arriving at a clinic after being charged with drink-driving.
Earlier, Dec had arrived at the presenter’s home to see him for the first time since his car crash on Sunday, which left a four-year-old girl needing a check-up.
Dec announced before their 30-minute meeting that he would host their ITV programme Saturday Night Takeaway alone for the final two episodes of the series.
A TV source said: “Ant and Dec spoke on the phone but hadn’t seen each other since the car accident, so it was a very emotional meeting.
“Dec gave Ant lots of hugs and reassurances that things would be OK. They both have a lot of hard work ahead now.” Ant is due before Wimbledon magistrates on April 4.
A police spokesman said: “A man has been charged following a road traffic collision in Lower Richmond Road, Putney, that occurred on Sunday, March 18.
“Anthony McPartlin, 42, of Chiswick, has been charged by postal requisition on Wednesday, March 21 with drink-driving.”
The star was yesterday seen entering Kingston police station, South West London, at 12.05pm and leaving shortly before 1pm.
Dec then visited him at his home in West London. Hours later, Ant was driven away from the property by his usual driver, who had loaded two suitcases and a carrier bag into the boot of the black Mercedes with blacked-out windows.
Dec, 42, made the decision to host Saturday Night Takeaway solo after speaking to Ant and ITV bosses, and considering fans and the staff who work on the show.
This weekend’s show has been cancelled, but Dec will present the episodes on March 31 and April 7.
It goes against a pact the pair made in 2010 that they would never do any TV work apart. But Ant is understood to have given his blessing for Dec to continue. And an ITV source said: “Sometimes it is a case of the show must go on.”
Dec wrote in a statement on the duo’s official Twitter page: “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.”
Referring to the programme’s 200 competition winners, due to be flown out to America for the last episode of the series, he added: “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.”
An ITV spokesman added: “We can confirm that Saturday Night Takeaway, presented by Declan Donnelly, will return on March 31 and the series finale will be taking place at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida a week later.”
On Monday it was confirmed that Ant was taking a leave of absence from his TV work. He previously went into rehab last year after struggling with an addiction to painkillers, following a knee operation in 2015.
His publicist said in a statement: “Ant has decided to go back into treatment and step down from his current TV commitments. He has spoken with Dec and ITV today and asked for time off for the foreseeable future.
“As such, Saturday Night Takeaway will not be going ahead this Saturday.”
Ant was involved in a collision with two cars while driving his Mini on Sunday. He was arrested at around 4pm after failing a roadside breathalyser test.
Police previously confirmed that a number of individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries and a child passenger from one of the cars was taken to hospital to be checked as a precaution.
It marked the latest in a string of personal setbacks for the star, whose admission to rehab last year was followed months later by the announcement that his marriage of 11 years to wife Lisa had ended.
Ant and Dec have worked together for nearly 30 years. Dec landed his role as Duncan on children’s drama Byker Grove in 1989. Ant joined as PJ a year later, launching one of Britain’s most successful TV duos.
The pair steered clear of the Royal Television Society Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday night, where they missed out on two awards.
Saturday Night Takeaway lost to ITV’s Love Island in the entertainment category, while Channel 4’s The Last Leg beat the duo’s I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! to the entertainment performance prize.