Declan Donnelly has thanked fans for their support, following his first ever solo presenting stint.
On Saturday (31 March), Dec was forced to front ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ on his own, after regular co-host Ant McPartlin revealed he was returning to treatment, following his arrest for drink-driving.
The episode got the thumbs up from viewers on social media, with Dec posting a short message of thanks later in the evening.
Admitting he’d been nervous before going live, he wrote on the official Ant and Dec Twitter page: “Thanks for all your lovely messages tonight, they are VERY much appreciated, I’m glad you enjoyed the show.
“I didn’t sleep an awful lot last night so I’m off to bed! Night y’all.”
During his solo presenting stint, the first time in his career Dec has ever presented a show in full without Ant at his side, he made light of the situation several times, including at the opening of the show, when he noted he had “twice as much work” to do as usual.
He also commented on the media furore around Ant’s personal life, during the show’s ‘Win The Ads’ segment.
When a randomly selected audience member admitted she hadn’t been following the news that week, Dec dryly noted: “For some us it’s been unavoidable.”
Dec will fly solo once again next week, for current series finale of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’, which will be filmed live from Florida.
After this, a new series of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ will begin later this month, and while Ant and Dec have already completed filming of the audition stages, it’s not yet known what the plans are for this year’s live shows.