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Dec to present Saturday Night Takeaway without Ant

PA Ant and DecPA
Donnelly (right) has co-hosted the show with McPartlin since 2002

Declan Donnelly will present Saturday Night Takeaway on his own for the rest of this series, ITV has confirmed.

This Saturday's show was cancelled after Ant McPartlin was arrested on suspicion of drink driving on Sunday.

The following two episodes, which will air on 31 March and 7 April, will now be presented solo by Donnelly.

McPartlin attended Kingston police station on Wednesday where he was interviewed under caution and released under investigation.

Mike Large, ITV's director of communications, also confirmed the Saturday Night Takeaway finale would take place as planned in Orlando, Florida.

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According to The Sun, Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern will continue in their supporting roles on the show.

Dan Wootton, the paper's showbusiness reporter, also claimed McPartlin would not co-host Britain's Got Talent when it returns to ITV later this year.

It is likely this would only apply to the series' live shows, as the audition programmes have already been recorded.

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"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," Dec wrote on Twitter.

"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."

McPartlin was interviewed by police on Wednesday following his arrest on suspicion of drink-driving.

The star attended Kingston police station, where he was questioned about the incident in Richmond-upon-Thames on Sunday.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A 42-year-old man attended a west London police station today and was interviewed under caution. He's been further released under investigation."

McPartlin was arrested in south-west London after a collision involving three vehicles.

Police said a 42-year-old man was arrested at the scene after failing a roadside breathalyser test.

Ant's publicist subsequently confirmed he would be taking time off "for the foreseeable future" and would have further treatment.

The presenter entered rehab in June 2017 after developing an addiction to alcohol and prescription painkillers. He later said he was "overwhelmed" by the support he received from the public.

Neither Ant nor Dec attended the Royal Television Society Awards in London on Tuesday, where they were in contention for two awards.

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