Stephen Mulhern was forced to pull out of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway at the last minute over the weekend after falling ill.
He had been due to star in a small segment of the show, but bosses had to rearrange things so Jordan North could take over.
Stephen Mulhern too ill to appear on Saturday Night Takeaway
According to The Sun, Stephen, 47, told producers he wasn’t well enough to attend the live show on Saturday morning (April 7). ITV confirmed he would be absent, but did not disclose the nature of his illness.
Stephen was due to appear in a comedy skit on Saturday night. A source told the publication: “Stephen was due to be on a small section of the show, but sadly he was feeling a bit too poorly to perform.
“When he realised he would be too under the weather to show up he called first thing on Saturday morning to let the team know.
“They were able to rejig the format and make it work without him.”
Illness forced Stephen off before
Stephen’s Saturday Night Takeaway absence comes after he also had to take time off from the show in 2023. This was due to a mystery illness that Stephen has never disclosed.
The star’s health battle took place back in March 2023. Taking to Twitter at the time, Stephen wrote: “I’m on the mend, I’m happy to say, and looking forward to getting back to work soon. In the meantime… I’ll put my feet up and watch Saturday Night Takeaway tonight with the rest of you lot. Please don’t miss me too much! Lots of love, Stephen.”
In November 2023, the Deal Or No Deal host gave more details to The Sun although still didn’t reveal exactly what was wrong.
“It’s really bizarre because this is the first time I’ve ever explained because I keep myself to myself. But I was in hospital. I had to have those two weeks off Saturday Night Takeaway. Now we’re alright. But it wasn’t good. It was a bit of a worrying time,” he said.
Stephen Mulhern to return to Saturday Night Takeaway
Now, it’s been revealed that Stephen will in fact return to SNT this weekend!
ITV has confirmed that Stephen is set to take part in the two-hour long Farewell Spectacular this coming Saturday (April 13).
It will be the final series (for now) of the show.
“We just thought it was the perfect time with series 20,” Ant said of the decision to bring the series to an end.
“It seemed a natural point to pause, celebrate, take a break, look back and reflect on how we want the show to look in future.”
Saturday Night Takeaway comes to an end next week
On Saturday night’s show, Ant and Dec confirmed this week’s episode will be the last in the series – and for a while as they plan to ‘rest’ the show.
Dec revealed: “The good news is it’s a live two-hour extravaganza, basically it’s going to be the mother of all parties. We’re taking over the whole of Television Centre.”
He confirmed acts appearing included Tony Hadley, Kaiser Chiefs, and Girls Aloud. Plus Stephen will be back to crown the ultimate winner of Ant vs Dec.
Fans are already upset that the show will come to an end next week, with one saying on X: “The penultimate show that I thoroughly enjoyed with Get Out Of My Ear: The Revenge and having one of my favourite bands Take That perform. I’m still in disbelief that this incredible show ends next week!”
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The finale of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway airs on Saturday, April 13 at 7pm on ITV and ITVX.
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