Ant to rejoin Dec on TV after year of personal battles
TV presenter Ant Mcpartlin has been given the go-ahead to return to work next month, it has emerged.
The other half of Ant and Dec will start filming the auditions for Britain’s Got Talent next month.
And a source said the 43-year-old will be back hosting the live shows alongside Declan Donnelly later in the year.
The news comes as the star has been off air, leaving Holly Willoughby to replace him as co-host alongside Donnelly on this year’s series of ITV’S I’m A Celebrity...get Me Out of Here! It marks his comeback following an eight-month hiatus after crashing his car in a drunk driving incident.
Despite his break from the annual jungle show filmed in Australia, the first episode of the new series became the most-watched launch episode in the show’s history.
It was watched by 13.7 million viewers – one million more than the previous year.
In April, Mcpartlin said he was “ashamed and mortified” after crashing his car while drink-driving with his mother as a passenger.
At Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in London, he was banned from driving for 20 months and fined £86,000 after pleading guilty to driving while more than twice the legal limit.
The court heard that he had been seeking help for “alcohol and emotional issues” at the time of the crash on March 18.
Mcpartlin’s barrister Liam Walker said: “Anthony Mcpartlin is sorry and is doing everything he can to ensure this never happens again.
“He hopes that in time he can make himself better and that he might be forgiven by all of the many people he knows and he feels he has let down terribly.”
The court heard that in a statement to police Mcpartlin said: “I am very sorry I did this. I am ashamed and mortified and I accept full responsibility.”
In October, Mcpartlin and his wife of 11 years, make-up artist Lisa Armstrong, divorced.
Two months earlier, he said he would remain off air for 2018.
He said: “My recovery is going very well and for that to continue, having spoken to Dec and ITV, I have made the decision to take the rest of the year off.”
Simon Cowell tweeted last night: “Ant WILL return for Britain’s Got Talent next year! Good to have you back.”