Ant due to return to I’m A Celebrity...

ANT MCPARTLIN is expected to host I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out

Of Here this year, ITV’s director of television has said.

The TV star recently revealed he nearly died as he battled depression, alcohol and substance abuse.

McPartlin – one half of muchloved presenting duo Ant and Dec – entered rehab in June after struggling with a two-year addiction to painkillers following a knee operation in 2015.

The revelation cast doubt over whether he would be able to travel to Australia to host the reality show, but ITV boss Kevin Lygo told the Edinburgh International TV Festival: “Ant is doing really well and we are expecting him to return for I’m A Celebrity.”

He added that sustaining the channel’s biggest hits, including

I’m A Celebrity, The X Factor and The Voice, as well as the soaps and daytime offerings, were crucial to its future. He said: “We don’t often talk about shows that have been on for a long time but they are vitally important to ITV and we have to put a lot resource and effort and energy into keeping these shows fresh and good.”

He continued: “There have been no new entertainment shows in the last 10 years that have taken the world by storm.”

Lygo also addressed the huge success of Love Island on ITV2 over the summer, saying the ratings surge the channel saw have not tempted him to move the show to ITV1.

He said: “You would get a higher rating but you would lose some of the cachet and cool and lose some of the young viewers.”