Declan Donnelly received a huge amount of support when he hosted Saturday Night Takeaway for the first time without his long-time co-host Ant McPartlin.
And now, it’s been revealed that Dec’s solo episode was watched by an astonishing 8.6 million viewers – 700,000 more than the previous episode, making it the most watched episode of this series.
The 42-year-old was forced to front the show alone on Saturday night, after Ant was arrested for drink-driving, and subsequently entered rehab for the second time.
Following the live 90-minute show, Dec tweeted, “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. D x.”
Ant’s estranged wife Lisa Armstrong also showed her support for Dec by liking a number of tweets.
One of the tweets read, “Has the country ever wanted one person to do so well as much as tonight?” while another wrote, “Well done Dec. You were brilliant as usual!”
While didn’t directly address Ant’s absence on the show, he did throw in a few quips about doing things on his own.
