Fans have been left dumbfounded after ITV chose to replace Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway with action thriller, Fast & Furious 5. It comes after Ant was arrested for drink-driving on Sunday, after he was involved in a three-vehicle collision. ITV announced that Takeaway will not be aired this weekend, but the irony of swapping it with a movie about high-speed driving was not lost on fans.
Twitter users expressed their shock, with one writing: "So Ant gets caught drink driving and #ITV helps fill the void of #SaturdayNightTakeaway with Fast and Furious 5. Couldn't make this stuff up." Another posted: "ITV have replaced #SaturdayNightTakeaway and put Fast and Furious 5 in the time slot due to Ant's drink driving, is that a joke." Meanwhile, a third commented: "Somebody at ITV has a dark sense of humour. Saturday Night Takeaway cancelled due to one of the presenters being pulled over for drink driving? Replaced with Fast & Furious 5!"
© Photo: RexTakeaway has been replaced by The Voice UK, Through the Keyhole and Fast & Furious 5
However, Fast & Furious 5 was always on the schedule. It was originally due to air at 10:45pm but was pulled half an hour forward due to the last-minute changes. Takeaway usually airs on early Saturday evening, but it has now been replaced by The Voice UK, which will move from its usual 8.30pm slot to 7pm. That will then be followed by a repeat of Keith Lemon's Through The Keyhole, which will begin at 9pm.
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Ant was arrested on Sunday afternoon on suspicion of drink-driving. He failed a breathalyser test and was brought in by the police; his Mini was part of a collision involving three vehicles. The horrific crash turned out to be Ant's third this year. In February, he crashed a truck into a wall during a skit that went wrong on Saturday Night Takeaway. Ant and his co-host Declan Donnelly were taking part in the daredevil stunt during rehearsals, with Ant later revealing: "We had a go this morning as we have to practice and we both crashed into the wall. It's gone pretty badly so far."
© Photo: Getty ImagesAnt was arrested for drink-driving on Sunday
Also in February, the Britian's Got Talent star had a minor scrape, this time reversing his £60,000 Range Rover into a tree. He had been taking his dog out for a walk in Richmond and as he prepared to drive home, he accidentally reversed into a tree, leaving a huge scuff on the rear side of his car.
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