Ant and Dec reunited – if only by the power of TV

Ant Mcpartlin will be reunited with Declan Donnelly on TV screens this weekend as Britain’s Got Talent airs its pre-recorded audition shows.

The presenter is seen laughing, dancing and at one point close to tears in the first episode of series 12, which was filmed back in January.

He is expected to appear throughout the auditions which run to the end of May but will be absent from the full week of live shows after he stepped down from his TV commitments following a drink-drive charge in March.

ITV confirmed this week that Dec will be hosting the live shows solo after he presented the final two episodes of the duo’s Saturday Night Takeaway without his TV partner of almost 30 years.

The pair have fronted BGT since its inception in 2007 and have a golden buzzer option on the show which allows them to send an act directly to the competition’s live semi-final.

An escapologist, a magician and a dance troupe set up by former Britain’s Got Talent winner Ashley Banjo all feature in tonight’s episode, which sees Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, David Walliams and Amanda Holden return as judges.

Mcpartlin was charged on March 21 after allegedly being involved in a collision with two other cars while he was driving his Mini in Richmond, west London, on March 18.

Britain’s Got Talent airs at 8pm on ITV.