Declan Donnelly has released a statement following the arrest of his best friend and co-host Ant McPartlin. The devastated TV star took to Twitter to reveal that the last two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway will still go ahead as planned. "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," he wrote.
Dec continued: "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. Dec x."
Dec and his wife Ali are pictured leaving their home
ITV have confirmed that Dec will present the last two episodes solo, and that Ant will not return to host Britian's Got Talent this spring as he will still be in rehab. Dec is naturally devastated following Sunday's incident which saw his best friend and co-host Ant arrested for drink-driving. The 42-year-old was pictured leaving his Chiswick home with his wife Ali Astall in low spirits, looking visibly upset as he processed the news.
MORE: All the times Ant and Dec have appeared on TV separately
Dec is understandably worried about his friend, but also concerned about the future of their on-screen partnership. "He's just really upset about it all on so many levels – gutted and worried about Ant, obviously, and devastated that he's going back to rehab," a source told the Sun. "But he's also worried about the future of Ant and Dec."
Dec will present the last two episodes of Takeaway
The pair have worked together for more than 20 years, and are considered the 'golden boys' of British TV. Most recently, they have been appearing in the latest series of Saturday Night Takeaway. Ant and Dec were also due to present Britain's Got Talent this spring, and I'm a Celebrity later this year.
MORE: ITV announces replacement for Takeaway