Ant McPartlin has taken a step back from an I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! WhatsApp group to “concentrate on himself”.
Phillip Schofield has revealed his pal isn’t part of the annual chat with his usual co-host Declan Donnelly and Holly Willoughby, who has stepped in for Ant on the reality series.
The 43-year-old TV presenter has taken time off from work commitments after he was convicted of drink-driving earlier this year resulting in a stint in rehab.
Read more: Dec rubbishes claims he’s going solo without Dec as “nonsense”
When asked if Ant has aired his thoughts on the current series, Phil told the Mirror Online: “I think Ant is concentrating on himself and so, no, we’re all letting him get well.
“It’s me, Dec and Holly. I started it when they went out. We had a couple of chats before that.”
Phil, 56, who has a group chat with Ant and Dec every year when they head to the Australian jungle, revealed that he knew his This Morning co-host Holly was “comfortable” co-hosting the programme when he received a message from her during a commercial break on a live show.
Read more: Ant McPartlin ‘still in divorce talks’ with ex Lisa Armstrong
He added: “Both Ant and Dec and myself have also got a WhatsApp group for when they were out there. They’re very much like me. You can text or WhatsApp someone during a commercial break or long VT.”
Dec previously admitted he didn’t want another guy to replace Ant on this year’s show.
Speaking last month, he told The Sun: “It is obviously tinged with sadness that Ant won’t be coming this year, I’m going to really miss him, but it’s only for one series and he’ll be back stronger next year.
“I didn’t want to host this series with another guy so Holly was top of my list.”
Despite the decision to replace Ant with Holly initially split fans, this series has proved to be a ratings smash with opening episode grabbing an incredible 11 million viewers matching the numbers of BBC One’s hit show The Bodyguard.
Anne Hegerty became the latest campmate to get her marching orders from the jungle on Wednesday night’s show, following Rita Simons, Sair Khan, Malique Thompson-Dwyer and Noel Edmonds.
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