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Ant McPartlin Saturday Night Takeaway absence leaves Declan Donnelly ‘in crisis talks with ITV'

Crisis talks: Dec Donnelly is reportedly meeting with show bosses to decide how to acknowledge Ant McPartlin's absence: ITV
Crisis talks: Dec Donnelly is reportedly meeting with show bosses to decide how to acknowledge Ant McPartlin's absence: ITV

Declan Donnelly is reportedly in crisis talks with Saturday Night Takeaway bosses over how to address Ant McPartlin’s absence when the show returns.

The TV host has stepped down from forthcoming work commitments after being charged with drink-driving following a three-car crash on Sunday Night.

A source told The Mirror: “Takeaway is all about fun and laughter so they can’t dwell on bad news, but it will be odd if they don’t reference Ant and his issues.

“Dec will want to pay tribute to his pal in some way, but getting the balance right is crucial.

"Fans will love to hear how Ant is getting on as well.”

This weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Takeaway has been cancelled, but the final two are set to go ahead.

McPartlin is said to have given Donnelly his blessing to present without him for the first time ever.

Donnelly said in a statement: "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."

An ITV spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Saturday Night Takeaway, presented by Declan Donnelly, will return to ITV on March 31, and the series finale will be taking place at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida a week later."

Saturday Night Takeaway returns Saturday, March 31 at 7pm on ITV.