Ant McPartlin is making his much-anticipated return to work on Friday, when he will be reunited with his telly double Declan Donnelly for the first round of auditions on Britain's Got Talent. Filming for the talent show begins this week in London, which means Ant and Dec will be on hand to present the show and keep auditionees relaxed backstage.
The auditions are taking place at the London Palladium on Friday afternoon, with judges Simon Cowell, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden and David Walliams all expected to attend.
Ant at last year's Britain's Got Talent auditions
Ant, 43, has been off work since last spring, when he was involved in a car collision in Richmond. He was found guilty of drink driving, fined £86,000 and given a 20-month driving ban. Ant subsequently pulled out of hosting Saturday Night Takeaway, leaving Dec to front the show alone. This Morning's Holly Willoughby also stepped into his role for I'm a Celebrity at the end of the year.
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While Ant will be returning to Britain's Got Talent, his ex-wife Lisa Armstrong has been axed from her makeup job on the show. Her divorce from popular presenter Ant has not been explicitly named as the reason, but Lisa has strongly suggested that this was the case. The 42-year-old liked a tweet from a fan that read: "For you to lose your job because of your ex is very unfair and unjust, you're a beautiful soul. You hold your head up while others' masks slip."
Ant McPartlin apologises after drink-driving arrest:
She also confirmed that it wasn't her decision to leave her job, and replied to a tweet that read: "Sorry [but] @lisaAmakeup being axed is just… ridiculous!! Why should she be punished?!" Lisa replied: "Exactly hun."
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Dec confirmed last year that his best friend would be returning to Britain's Got Talent after his year off. "It's back to normal for BGT, fingers crossed it will be great," said Dec. Meanwhile, the pair's other popular show Takeaway will be pushed back until 2020 to help ensure that Ant's recovery goes smoothly.
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