Ant and Dec lose advertising deal with Suzuki

Ant and Dec have lost a lucrative advertising deal with Suzuki, the car manufacturer, two days after television presenter Anthony McPartlin was charged with drink-driving.

Suzuki will continue to sponsor the remaining two episodes in the current series of McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s Saturday Night Takeaway show, but they will no longer appear in commercials.

“We agree with ITV and Ant and Dec that it was the correct decision not to broadcast Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend,” Suzuki said on Friday.

“As a car brand, we recognise the seriousness of Ant’s charge. We completely support Ant’s decision to seek treatment.

“Suzuki will however continue to sponsor the last two episodes of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway with our current idents.

“Suzuki very much supports Dec and ITV’s decision to broadcast the shows and as headline sponsors we also want to support the competition winners who have won places on the plane to Florida for the series finale.”

McPartlin, 42, was charged on Wednesday and is due to appear at Wimbledon magistrates court on 4 April following a collision on Lower Richmond Road, in south-west London, on Sunday.

Donnelly will host Saturday Night Takeaway alone when the programme returns to ITV on 31 March, the channel confirmed.

Donnelly wrote on the duo’s official Twitter page: “Whilst I never thought I’d be in this position, after much discussion and careful consideration we’ve decided that the remaining two shows of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead.

“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.”