Declan Donnelly asked viewers not to dwell on Ant McPartlin's absence from Britain's Got Talent

Declan Donnelly has asked people not to dwell on Ant McPartlin’s absence from Britain’s Got Talent.

Since Ant, 42, was arrested back in March and charged with drink driving, the star has kept a low profile and has not appeared on any of his regular shows Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent alongside his co-host.

Speculation grew in the aftermath of Ant’s arrest whether Dec, also 42, would carry on and go it alone or if he’d have a presenting partner to stand in as Ant recovered at rehab and beyond.

But in true show biz fashion, Dec continued to present the duo’s primetime shows on his own and to great success.

With Britain’s Got Talent’s live semi-finals kicking off this week, Dec was at the forefront of hosting duties and even made a reference and a little joke about the fact he’s presenting the show on his own.

To introduce the big show at the Hammersmith Apollo, Dec opened with a promise that they were back and that nothing had changed – except for the obvious: ‘The talent is just as good, the judges are exactly the same and the presenters… well it’s probably best not to dwell on that, let’s just get on with the show!’

This week (28 May) marked the beginning of semi-finals week and was the first ever show hosted by Declan on his own.

During the programme, judge David Walliams quipped about Ant’s absence, too: ‘As you know, a lot more pressure can be a good thing.’

‘Moving on,’ Dec quickly responded.

Ant was arrested earlier this year after crashing his car into two others. He was subsequently sentenced to a 20-month driving ban and fined £86,000 after pleading guilty to the charge.

Currently, the star is recovering from his second stint in rehab and it’s unknown when he will return to telly.

Britain’s Got Talent continues tonight and for the rest of the week, from 7.30pm, on ITV1.

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