ant and dec im a celeb© Photo: Rex

Ant McPartlin confirmed to host I'm A Celebrity 2019

Holly Willoughby stepped in to replace Ant last year

Deputy Online Editor
March 13, 2019

Ant McPartlin will be back to host I'm A Celebrity 2019, it has officially been confirmed. Last year's series saw Holly Willoughby step in to present alongside Declan Donnelly as Ant stepped away from the limelight. Speaking at a BAFTA Masterclass of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! this week, show boss Richard Cowles revealed that Ant and Dec will be reunited in the jungle later this year, and added that the show will be an "amazing" series.

© Photo: Getty Images

Ant McPartlin will be back to present I'm A Celebrity this year

"We love what Holly did, but we're very much looking forward to Ant coming back and I think it's going to be an amazing series," he said via Radio Times. "I think the job is for us to create a series and cast where everyone wants to come back and watch more, so I'm not worried [about ratings]. I'm looking forward to seeing Ant and Dec back again."

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Following Holly's stint in the jungle, many fans were hoping that she will be asked back to present the 2019 series. However, Holly revealed that it was a one-off adventure. "This was a one-off, once in a lifetime adventure," she told The Sun in December. "I'll be at home with everyone else having a glass of wine watching it. That was the thing I was most jealous of. Here I am standing here while you're all drinking red wine at home in front of the fire and I'm in the rain in the jungle."

With Holly's presence on the show, the ratings soared throughout the series, hitting a peak of 11.9 million viewers on the first episode, the programme's highest-rated launch in the past five years. It was also the biggest overnight rating of 2018 outside of World Cup matches. Holly had the best time working alongside Dec, and told her co-host during the show's finale: "I've absolutely loved it, I've had the time of my life."

MORE: What is Declan Donnelly's net worth?

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