Declan Donnelly faces 'impossible dilemma' about presenting Saturday Night Takeaway without Ant McPartlin

Dec is said to be 'stressed' about hosting episodes without his longtime presenting partner

Declan Donnelly reportedly has doubts over whether he should host Saturday Night Takeaway without his longtime presenting partner, Ant McPartlin.

Donnelly - one-half of presenting duo Ant and Dec - is said to be “absolutely devastated” after McPartlin was arrested for “drink-driving” on Sunday (18 March), and is “stressed” over appearing on live television without him for the final two episodes, set to air on 31 March and 7 April.

This weekend's edition has been cancelled.

According to The Mirror, Donnelly is yet to decide whether he will proceed without his trusty sidekick having insisted they would never “be on our own out there” in 2010 autobiography Ooh! What A Lovely Pair.

“Dec is stressed and it is a very difficult decision in terms of what he does next,“ a source said. ”They always said they would not work solo but now he has to think about not just their careers but hundreds of employees who work for them and ITV.

“It feels like an impossible dilemma for him and he doesn’t know what is the right answer.”

McPartlin has cancelled all work commitments for the “foreseeable future.“ Last year, he entered rehab after struggling with an addiction to painkillers following a knee operation in 2015.

The final episode of Saturday Night Takeaway was set to unite its series of competition winners for a huge episode to be filmed in Orlando, Florida. If Dec proceeds without McPartlin, it is unknown whether another host will be drafted in to take his place.

ITV released a statement stating it had “...taken a joint decision with Ant and Dec’s team not to broadcast Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend.

“We will be reviewing options for the last two episodes of the series (March 31 and April 7) which would not feature Ant who is taking time off to seek treatment. We very much hope that he gets the help that he needs.“

The channel has declined to comment further.

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