Declan Donnelly will present this year’s ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ live shows solo, ITV bosses have confirmed.
His usual co-host Ant McPartlin will not return to front the semi-final and grand finale in May, following his arrest for drink driving last month.
ITV’s Head Of Entertainment Siobhan Greene confirmed the news at a ‘BGT’ press launch on Tuesday (10 April) night.
However, Ant will still feature in the pre-recorded episodes as the audition episodes were filmed earlier this year, prior to his arrest.
Speaking to members of the press including HuffPost UK, Siobhan also revealed this year’s live shows will come from the iconic Hammersmith Apollo, as opposed to the usual studio setting.
None of the show’s presenters or judges were present at Tuesday’s press event as they have been in previous years, which followed the decision to remove Ant and Dec from all promo material for the new series.
Ant is due to appear in court to face charges of drink driving next Monday, after the case was adjourned earlier this month.
Earlier this week it was was revealed that the troubled star was allegedly twice over the legal limit when he was arrested, according to police.
The breathalyser reading was 75mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 35 mcg.
Following his arrest, Ant stepped down from all TV commitments to return to rehab, where he is currently seeking treatment.
Dec has since presented the remainder of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ without Ant to rave reviews from viewers.
‘Britain’s Got Talent’ returns this Saturday at 8pm on ITV.