Ant McPartlin has been out of the public eye for the best part of the year – but Mirror Online can exclusively reveal he’s set to be back on screens next spring when he re-joins Britain’s Got Talent.
The 43-year-old presenter plans to be reunited with his telly partner Declan Donnelly after taking the last 10 months off to recover from booze and prescription drug addiction.
An insider revealed: "Ant has been working with ITV bosses to get a date in the diary for his return.
"He’ll be back filming with Dec and Stephen Mulhern for BGT in mid-January – it’s sure to be an emotional reunion for them all."
The first round of auditions kicks off next month as Simon Cowell’s talent juggernaut steams into action, with Ant and Dec joining the judges to deliver their traditional backstage quips and words of encouragement to the nervous hopefuls.
But it casts doubt over whether they’ll make it to the National Television Awards on January 22 thanks to filming commitments.
Once again, the pair are up for Best TV Presenter gong – the same award they’ve won for the last 16 years in a row.
BGT will be the first time Ant and Dec have been seen together on screen since April this year, around the same time Ant was convicted of drink-driving following a three-car crash in March.
As a result, Ant announced he was stepping down from all future TV commitments to focus on his health.
Dec had to present the Saturday Night Takeaway finale in Florida without his showbiz partner of 30 years, instead roping in guest presenters Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern to deliver a successful end of the series.
And in August, ITV revealed that Ant wouldn’t be joining Dec in the I’m A Celebrity jungle for the first time in the show’s 16-year history.
The Mirror exclusively revealed Ant would be replaced by Holly Willoughby, after she was given the seal of approval by both Ant and Dec.
BGT could be seen as a ‘safe’ way for Ant to ping back into the public eye, as neither he nor Dec are the main stars of the show.
It comes after they admitted they were postponing next year’s Takeaway series because they couldn’t guarantee they would do it justice.
"Production and filming for a Saturday Night Takeaway series in February would normally have already started, and continue throughout 2018 and early 2019," they said in a joint statement in August.
"Neither Ant & Dec nor ITV wanted to compromise the quality of the show and therefore felt it was better to rest the series next year.
"They will instead bring the show back in 2020, bigger and better than ever."
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