Ant McPartlin told to ‘man up’ and ‘take responsibility’ by Carl Fogarty

Carl Fogarty has hit out at Ant McPartlin and those rallying around him, saying he needs to “man up”.

Fogarty, 52, said McPartlin’s friends and family need to be ‘firmer’ with the TV star who pleaded guilty to drink driving earlier this week before returning to rehab.

Speaking about the troubled presenter, Fogarty told the Daily Star: “He’s got everybody running about after him going, ‘Oh it's a shame for him’.

“Hang on a minute – grow up, sort yourself out and take responsibility. Don’t go running off to rehab every five minutes when something goes wrong.”

He continued: “He got in a car p***** – don't do that, it’s not right. You don’t need to go to rehab to be told to sort that out, you know that’s wrong and you shouldn’t be doing that. And people around him need to be firm with him.”

McPartlin was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months after he crashed his Mini into two vehicles in Richmond last month.

A court hearing on Monday found he was twice the legal limit when he caused the collision which resulted in a four-year-old girl being taken to hospital

Piers Morgan recently hit out at those offering McPartlin sympathy, saying the Saturday Night Takeaway star ‘doesn’t deserve it’.

He later tweeted: “To clarify, I said I don’t think anyone who drink drives deserves sympathy, especially when they crash into cars with kids inside. Ant, I’m sure, wouldn’t want or expect any.

“But on a personal level, I’m very sad to see him like this & wish him well with his recovery.”

McPartlin apologised for his actions, saying he is “truly sorry” for letting down family, friends and fans.

Speaking outside Wimbledon Magistrates Court following sentencing he said: “I just want to say I’m truly sorry for what happened.

“High standards are expected of me, I expect them of myself. I’ve let myself down, I let a lot of people down. And for that I am truly sorry.

“I’d like to apologise to everybody involved in the crash and I’m just thankful no-one was seriously hurt.”