Declan Donnelly to present Saturday Night Takeaway without Ant McPartlin next week following drink drive arrest

Declan Donnelly will present ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway without Ant McPartlin next week following his drink drive arrest.

Donnelly will take the reins of the hugely popular entertainment show with co-stars Stephen Mulhern and Scarlett Moffatt also appearing as usual.

It comes after McPartlin was arrested for drink driving following a three car crash in Richmond on Sunday which left a four-year-old girl in hospital.

The troubled TV star looked downcast on Wednesday as he was seen leaving his house for the first time since confirming he would return to rehab.

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 spokesman 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."

McPartlin was involved in the incident in Richmond on Sunday which left a four year old girl in hospital after he reportedly lost control of his vehicle on a bend. He failed a roadside breathalyser test and was arrested before later being released.

Representatives for the star announced he had terminated all work commitments for the “foreseeable future” in the wake of the incident.