Saturday Night Takeaway: Dec presents show without Ant McPartlin

While last week's "Saturday Night Takeaway" was pulled from the schedule, ITV later announced plans for Dec to host the final two episodes of the series, including next week's live series finale, without Ant at his side.

He made several veiled references to the absence of Ant, at one point saying following the news had been "unavoidable" in recent weeks, but did not explicitly mention why Ant was missing.

This will be the first time in 20 years that Dec has had to present without Ant by his side, so he's understandably feeling the pressure ahead of tonight's show.

He also made light of the situation later in the show, commenting that he would have to take over the "End Of The Show Show" preparations himself, "like everything else this week".

He thanked them for their "very, very, warm reception", before adding: "I've got twice the amount of work to do so we're going to crack on and say hello to our star guest announcer Mr Stephen Merchant".

Presenting the show on his own for the first time in his history, Dec was given a rapturous welcome by the studio audience who he high-fived on his way to the stage.

Tonight saw the show still go on, albeit with a lonely Declan Donnelly, which broke the hearts of many Ant and Dec fans at home.

Dermot O'Leary, Piers Morgan, and Susanna Reid were among those lauding the Geordie presenter, who was without his usual sidekick Ant McPartlin.

@Mitchinator9339 wrote on Twitter: "Dec did such a good job on #SaturdayNightTakeaway tonight".

A forthcoming TV show featuring Ant and Dec is reported to have been put on hold as it features the duo drinking alcohol.

The 42-year-old has been charged with the offence and will appear in court next week.

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