Declan Donnelly will host Saturday Night Takeaway solo for the first time this weekend but he will reportedly have a little extra help from his friends.
Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern will have “expanded roles” to help fill the gap left by Ant McPartlin, according to Radio Times
The 42-year-old presenter is taking time away from work and returning to treatment, after being charged with drink-driving.
Dec, who revealed this week he’s set to become father for the first time, will present sections such as Win The Ads alone.
But Scarlett and Stephen, who already have regular roles on the show supporting the hosts, will reportedly step in when he needs support usually provided by his partner.
For example, when someone needs to take a mic to speak to a member of the audience while Dec remains on stage.
The pair will also help Dec ensure the End Of The Show Show, starring Paloma Faith, is full of fun and energy like normal.
There will be no undercover pranks or ‘Get Me Out of Ear!’ segments with celebrities according to the Radio Times, who report they were never intended to be part of the final two episodes, anyway.
But Stephen will play his ‘In For a Penny In For a Grand’ game on the streets of Warrington.
Meanwhile, comedian Stephen Merchant will be celebrity guest announcer, while The Script also perform.
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ITV said: “There will also be plenty of surprises as more Places on the Plane are given away, and another lucky player gets the chance to ‘Win The Ads’ in the only show on TV that says ‘don’t just watch the adverts – win ’em!'”
Ant will still feature as the show will broadcast the next installment in the pre-recorded Saturday Knight Takeaway skit.
Dec said in a statement of his decision to carry on the series without Ant: “Whilst I never thought I’d be in this position, after much discussion and careful consideration we’ve decided that the remaining two shows of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead.
“We made a promise to take hundreds of deserving winners to Florida to watch the series finale, and we will honour that. Everyone at ITV and the Takeaway team feels we owe it to the audience to complete the series.”
This weekend’s will be the last from the London studio as the final show will be filmed at Universal Studios in Orlando.
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Scarlett and Stephen will again help Dec there in Ant’s absence, and there are also rumours that a number of A-list stars could appear to ensure the series ends with a bang.
Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway will be on ITV Saturday at 7pm.
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