Declan Donnelly has admitted he considered ending his professional relationship with Ant McPartlin after his regular co-host was arrested for drink-driving in 2018.
Last year, Dec was forced to fly solo for the first time in the duo’s presenting career, when Ant took time out from the spotlight to focus on his recovery, following his arrest.
This included presenting two episodes of Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway by himself, as well as the Britain’s Got Talent live shows, while he teamed up with Holly Willoughby to front last year’s I’m A Celebrity.
Speaking to The Guardian, Dec revealed he actually considered ending their partnership altogether, describing Ant’s actions as “indefensible”.
“I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind,” he explained. “Of course I thought about it.
“Ant went away, and he had a lot of work to do on himself. He had a lot of thinking to do. Equally, I did. I thought about every eventuality and every permutation.”
Eventually, the pair got both their professional and personal relationship back on track, and are gearing up to return to our screens as a duo for the first time in almost a year next month.
Dec said: “Ultimately, the number one thing I wanted to happen was that Ant came back and he was healthy and happy, and we got our relationship back on track and we carried on. That’s the thing that makes me the happiest, working together.”
The Guardian then describes Dec as “wiping his eyes and apologising”.
Despite Ant being absent from TV for most of 2018, the pair were named Best Present at the NTAs earlier this year, with Ant remarking he didn’t feel like he could accept the award.
They’ve also been nominated for two TV Baftas, one for Best Entertainment Performance, and another for their show Saturday Night Takeaway.