Declan Donnelly tells fans he’s ready to host Saturday Night Takeaway solo after script snap revealed he’s going it alone after Ant McPartlin checked into rehab
DECLAN Donnelly has told fans he's ready to host Saturday Night Takeaway solo after a snap of the script revealed he's going it alone after Ant McPartlin checked back into rehab.
The 42 year old is fronting the show solo for the first time tonight and he declared he's all set after finishing final rehearsals.
With around an hour to go before show time, Dec tweeted: "All rehearsals done, your #SaturdayNightTakeaway will be ready in an hour! See you on the telly at 7pm. D x"
It came after show bosses shared a picture of the script which confirmed Dec will be hosting solo.
Posting the snap online, the show’s official Twitter account stated: “Just a little photo to prove that we don’t just wing it, there is actually a script.”
They also shared a snap of Scarlett Moffatt as she was getting ready for the live show.
They wrote: "A rare pic of @ScarlettMoffatt not running around somewhere in the Country! #SaturdayNightTakeaway."
Some fans were upset by the snap, with one re-posting the picture and telling their followers: “I was OK until they tweeted this, then I welled up again!”
Others were more positive and flooded the post with supportive replies.
Earlier this week Dec was pictured rehearsing alone in the ITV studios.
He appeared nervous as he stood on the stage alone and ran through the episode.
The Sun exclusively revealed how ITV bosses held a production summit this morning to try and work out how best to reference the Geordie TV star.
Dec spent most of Friday preparing for tonight’s show which also features Paloma Faith and Stephen Merchant.
He’ll be aided by his co-stars Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern who’re expecting to stand in for Ant in certain parts of the episode – including giving away tickets for next week’s grand finale in Florida.
Ahead of this morning's summit at ITV, a TV source told The Sun: “Explaining Ant’s absence has been the hardest part of planning.
“The bosses are torn in regards to how they can hit the right tone.
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“They want to be respectful to people involved in Ant’s car accident, while not bringing down the mood of the show.
“Takeaway is all about having fun and they fear a sombre start may seriously effect the quality of the output.”
Ant will still appear on the show however as bosses decided to air the show's mini-drama Saturday Knight Takeaway.
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