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Ant McPartlin 'could have wiped out my family' says father involved in crash

The green Mini which sustained damage in the collision 
The green Mini which sustained damage in the collision

A father involved in the crash with Ant McPartlin has said the television star could have "wiped out" his family.

Faheem Vanoo, who runs a restaurant, claimed McPartlin "drove like a maniac" before being arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

The collision occurred as he drove to work with his chef wife Shilpa, four-year-old daughter Amaira and two colleagues.

The 41-year-old told The Sun: "His Mini came flying around a sharp corner on the wrong side of

“I’m convinced that split-second turn of the wheel saved us all from being crippled or killed. I reckon he was doing 50 or 60mph.

"Fortunately I was only doing 20mph, we were all wearing seatbelts and my little girl was strapped into a child seat. But it was still a big impact.

"I don’t care whether he’s a millionaire and I don’t care whether he’s a famous TV star — he could have put my daughter in a wheelchair."

Mr McPartlin, 42, has stepped town from television to return to treatment for addiction issues, taking a break from work at ITV after consulting with his on-screen partner Declan Donnelly.

On Sunday afternoon, he was questioned by police on suspicion of drink driving over a car crash which saw a three-year-old taken to hospital.

After news and photographs of a three-car crash in London emerged, ITV announced it was cancelling this weekend’s Saturday Night Takeaway as Mr McPartlin seeks help.

The presenter’s spokesman said in a statement: “Ant has decided to go back into treatment and step down from his current TV commitments.

Ant conferred with Dec before deciding to step down from his television commitments - Credit:  Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Ant conferred with Dec before deciding to step down from his television commitmentsCredit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

"He has spoken with Dec and ITV today and asked for time off for the foreseeable future. As such ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ will not be going ahead this Saturday.”

ITV added: “ITV has taken a joint decision with Ant and Dec’s team not to broadcast Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend.

“We will be reviewing options for the last two episodes of the series ( March 31  and April 7 ) which would not feature Ant who is taking time off
to seek treatment. We very much hope that he gets the help that he needs.”

This Saturday’s episode will be replaced by Through the Keyhole and Take Me Out.

The broadcaster has been released under investigation following his arrest on suspicion of drink-driving on Sunday.