Simon Cowell has opened up about the occasions that Declan Donnelly presented shows without his showbiz partner, Anthony McPartlin, in 2018, and admitted that he "felt" for the presenter after he was forced to go solo following Ant's drink driving arrest. Chatting on Lorraine on Monday about Ant's comeback on Britain's Got Talent, he said: "Yeah, I really did miss him. I felt for Dec last year, we really threw him out there."
Simon opened up about Ant returning to TV
Amanda Holden added: "He [Ant] looks really healthy, doesn't he? He looks great." Simon added: "It's the happiest I've seen him for a long, long time." Ant opened up about returning to television in an interview with The Sun, and admitted that his arrest caused tension with Dec, explaining: "He's angry, of course he’s angry. But it's justified and I understood it. Underneath all of that is love and still is love. And that’s what we talked about more than anything." He continued: "I saw Dec the day after the crash and we didn't even speak work. It wasn't about that. It was about, 'How are you?' I said: 'I'm not right.' You know, mentally I wasn't in a good place."
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Ant has spent the past ten months off work after causing a car crash while drinking under the influence of alcohol back in March. As a result, Dec presented the final two episodes of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway solo, along with Britain's Got Talent. The pair went on to win Best Presenter at the NTAs, and Ant said: "Oh wow. Thank you, thank you very much, this is a genuine shock, especially this year… I really don't think I can accept this award this year, the one reason we've won this year is because of this guy… I love you mate, well done."