Ant and Dec confirm why they’ve been forced to pull out of Britain’s Got Talent spinoff

Ant and Dec have confirmed the reason they were forced to pull out of hosting duties for the new spinoff of Britain’s Got Talent.

The British duo were originally expected to present the new ITV talent show, Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician.

However, a spokesperson for the series told MailOnline on Wednesday (12 October) that the two were “unable to film” after having become “unwell”.

Instead, they have been replaced by magician Stephen Mulhern.

A representative for the pair later informed The Sun that “Ant and Dec have tested for Covid and unfortunately have both tested positive” and “will be postponing work commitments whilst they recover”.

This also means that Ant McPartlin, 47, and Dec Donnelly, 46, will no longer be in attendance at Britain’s 27th National Television Awards on Thursday (13 October).

Up against Alison Hammond, Bradley Walsh and Graham Norton, the duo are, once again, in the running for the TV presenter award, which they have won for the past 20 years in a row.

Originally scheduled to take place last month, the NTAs were postponed following Queen Elizabeth II’s death on 8 September.

The news of the I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! presenters’ health comes just weeks after they returned from shooting in South Africa.

It was recently announced that a new special of the reality show will see former favourites return for an all-star series.

The line-up is rumoured to include Georgia Toffolo, Stacey Solomon, Carol Vorderman, Amir Khan and Gino D’Acampo.

I’m a Celebrity will also return for a regular series on ITV this November. It is back in Australia for the first time since 2019, having moved to Wales during the Covid pandemic.

The 2020 and 2021 seasons of I’m a Celebrity saw the stars set up camp in Gwrych Castle. Emmerdale star Danny Miller won the 2021 series.