Declan Donnelly reportedly teared up while thanking the audience of Saturday Night Takeaway after the cameras stopped rolling. The presenter, who was forced to host the show by himself after his co-star, Anthony McPartlin, was arrested on drink driving charges, reportedly told the crowd it had been the "weirdest, weirdest show". According to Metro, he said: "I wanted to say a huge, huge thank you to lots of people here. Most of all I just wanted to thank you guys. That reception when I came down the stairs... I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do or how you were going to react but you carried me all the way through the show. I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Thank you."
Dec reportedly teared up while thanking the audience
He then joked: "I've talked quite enough this evening - enough talking for two. Thank you so much. And we can all go to the bar." Dec's solo appearance on the show was met with widespread praise by viewers, and was the highest watched show of the series, peaking at 8.6 million viewers. The star briefly addressed Ant's absence at the beginning of the show, saying: "We have got a jam-packed show, this week we have lots to cram in and I have twice the amount of work to do!"
READ: Dec jokes he has 'twice the work to do' as Saturday Night Takeaway returns to TV
Thanking fans for their support on Twitter, Dec wrote: "Thanks for all your lovely messages tonight, they are VERY much appreciated, I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I didn’t sleep an awful lot last night so I’m off to bed! Night y'all." He previously confirmed that he would present the show without his showbiz partner after Ant went into rehab following his arrest. The statement read: "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."
MORE: All the times Ant and Dec have appeared on TV separately