I'm a Celebrity: Dec gets new co-host as rumours swell over Ant replacement

Holly Willoughby, Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern are all in contention for the job

(Getty Images)

ITV has confirmed that Declan Donnelly will not present the upcoming series of I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here by himself.

Co-presenter Ant McPartlin will not return to the series this year after returning to rehab following a drink driving incident in April.

Director of television at ITV, Kevin Lygo, confirmed the news at Edinburgh TV Festival, telling an audience: “We collectively all thought let’s give [Ant] a good amount of time off because these things are a slow procedure.

“He’s not going to go to the jungle. Dec is and we will find someone to stand next to Dec.”

Lygo also teased who the placement could be, joking: “It’s Piers Morgan. It could be anybody. It could be Jeremy Corbyn.”

Rumours have swelled over who could be stepping in, The Mirror reporting that secret talks have taken place between ITV and Holly Willoughby. Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt and Britain’s Got More Talent presenter Stephen Mulhern are currently the bookies favourites to take the gig.

However, a spokesperson for the channel has said we should not expect an official announcement for some time: “An announcement on I’m A Celebrity plans will be made in due course.”

McPartlin will not be returning to TV screens for the rest of the year, with Saturday Night Takeaway not airing during the break. Together, Ant and Dec have hosted I’m A Celebrity... since 2002.