Ant McPartlin Looks Set For Autumn Return

ITV boss says ‘irreplaceable’ presenter doing really well after leaving rehab

Chiswick-based TV presenter Ant McPartlin is making a good recovery and will return to our screens in the next few months according to a senior ITV executive.

The 41-year-old host of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! went into a rehab facility this June for treatment for depression and addiction to painkillers.

Ant at the Chiswick Dog Show

Speaking at the Edinburgh International TV Festival, Kevin Lygo, who is head of studios at ITV, responded to a suggestion that Ant would not be part of this autumn’s show by saying, “How very dare you. Ant is doing really well and we’re expecting him to return to I’m A Celebrity, so we won’t be resting it.”

There had been reports that an alternative co-host might be found to work with Declan Donnelly with Holly Willoughby’s name mentioned but it is understood that Ant’s friend and neighbour refused to consider working on the show without him.

Kevin Lygo went on to say that Ant was irreplaceable and that ”There have been no new entertainment shows in the last 10 years that have taken the world by storm."

Ant developed a dependence on the painkiller Tramadol following complications after a knee operation. After a cartilage operation two years ago a fracture in his knee caused his patella to dislocate leaving him in constant agony and needing to wear a knee brace. In the early part of his stint in rehab he was required to use a wheelchair whilst recovering from another operation on his knee.

It has been reported that Ant’s mum Christine has come to stay at his Chiswick home to support him before his return to work.

August 24, 2017