To say that the last couple of days have been rough for television presenter Ant McPartlin would be a huge understatement, and unfortunately the last fourty-eight hours have resulted in him returning to rehab and the indefinite cancellation of, “Saturday Night Takeaway,” which he hosts with longtime pal, Declan Donnelly.
Following his regular hosting slot on the popular Saturday night show, Ant McPartlin was involved in a car accident just yesterday which subsequently led to his arrest on suspicion of drink driving.
Reports and pictures from the scene of the crash confirmed that Ant’s mother and dog were both in the car with him at the time of the accident, but thankfully nobody was injured.
Ant was then arrested by the police after failing a breathalyser test at the side of the road and since then things have been pretty quiet. That was until this afternoon when his publicist revealed that he has bravely made the decision to return to rehab following his previous stint last year.
The presenter’s return to rehab has also prompted the cancellation of the next episode of, “Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway,” this coming Saturday (24th March).
In a statement, his publicist said, “Ant has decided to go back into treatment and to step down from his current television commitments. He has spoken with Dec and ITV today and has asked for some time off for the foreseeable future. As such, ‘Saturday Night Takeaway,’ will not be going ahead this week.”
ITV have also released a statement on the cancellation saying, “We have made a joint decision with Ant and Dec’s team not to broadcast, ‘Saturday Night Takeaway,’ this weekend. We will review all of our options for the last two episodes of the series which would not feature Ant who is taking some time off to seek treatment. We very much hope that he gets the help he needs.”
Instead of, “Saturday Night Takeaway,” ITV have confirmed that, “The Voice UK,” will air at the earlier time of 7pm in its place. The singing competition, originally scheduled for 8:30pm, will be two hours long as the second round of knockouts begin.
This news comes after a string of personal setbacks for the presenter who initially entered rehab in 2017 after struggling with addiction to alcohol and painkillers as a result of a recent knee operation, and then at the beginning of this year he announced his split with his wife of eleven years.
Although he has made his return to television and has seemingly been the lovable and funny Ant we all know and love over the last couple of months, it appears that he still has demons left to fight and we want to wish him all the best in his road to ultimate recovery.
What do you think about Ant McPartlin’s return to rehab? Do you think, “Saturday Night Takeaway,” should return without him? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter at, @CelebMix.