Ant McPartlin was left choking back tears as he filmed an upcoming live episode of Britain’s Got Talent for the first time in two years.
The 46-year-old host gushed at how delighted he was to be back in front of a studio audience after the Covid-19 pandemic forced ITV to cancel the show the previous year.
Standing alongside his trusty sidekick, Declan Donnelly, 46, the Mirror reports that Ant told the audience: “Excuse me while I go and cry. We are so excited to be back. We were gutted to miss last year and not get to see you all. But we’re back, raring to go and have one hell of a show for you.”
The previous season was thrown into chaos before its cancellation when it became impossible to audition acts due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
In 2020, they had been forced to delay the live semi-finals and final until the autumn, which were largely pre-recorded and involved a remote studio audience.
Newly engaged Simon Cowell joined Ant in welcoming back the studio audience: “I’m so excited we’re back! I can see people! I feel emotional.”
While Amanda Holden gushed: “I feel really choked up. It’s so great to see you all.”
Long-standing Judge David Williams had a dig at Simon Cowell for taking so long to propose to Lauren Silverman after the pair announced their engagement last week.
The star joked: “It was good you brought it up to date with the engagement. I mean, they only had a kid seven years ago. He took his time.”
(Image: WireImage)
Simon hit back with “hopefully mine will last longer than yours, David”, in reference to his fellow judge’s five-year marriage to supermodel Lara Stone.
Cowell, 62, and Silverman, 44, began their public relationship in 2013, shortly after Silverman’s ex-husband and Cowell’s close friend, Andrew Silverman, filed for divorce in July, claiming the pair were involved in an extramarital affair.
The pair welcomed their first son, Eric, in 2014. Silverman also has a son from a previous marriage.
The reality TV executive told OK! magazine in November that he and Silverman are “closer than ever”, revealing the “romance is still alive” between them.
“Covid-19 was the real test,” he said.
“Like everyone, we were in lockdown for a long time and that’s when you realise whether or not you actually enjoy each other’s company or not. And we really, really did. So to answer your question… yes, the romance is still alive!”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
