There were fears for Ant McPartlin as he made a return to our TV screens in last night’s Britain’s Got Talent.
The troubled presenter, 42, was back alongside his old buddy Declan Donnelly in scenes filmed before his drink-driving arrest last month.
But it didn’t take long for him to show his emotions, and after he was seen fighting back tears in response to a magician’s heartbreaking tale about his wife, fans took to Twitter to voice their concern.
Despite dazzling everyone with his trickery, Londoner Marc Spelmann explained that the real magic had been the birth of his daughter.
After Marc and his wife went through seven rounds of IVF trying for a baby, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Thankfully, she made a full recovery and was eventually able to give birth to a little girl.
Both Ant and Dec were impressed with Marc’s performance, and used their golden buzzer to put him straight through to the live semi-finals.
But Ant seemed particularly touched, telling the contestant: “You got me in tears, man – remarkable.”
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And fans of the star didn’t waste any time in putting their proverbial arm around him on social media.
One viewer tweeted: “I feel so sad watching @BritainsGotTalent. There is so much hurt in Ant’s eyes and he doesn’t seem his usual self. Like he’s putting up a front and pretending to be happy. Really hope he gets the help he needs.”
Another added: “Everyone who bad mouthed Ant the other week, find it in your heart to forgive. You could tell that was killing him watching that.”
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And a third said: “Seeing @antanddec on @BGT is acc making my heart break. Just want to give Ant the biggest cwtch ever and tell him how much he’s loved and supported and that it’s all gonna be okay.”
Ant was arrested last month after crashing his Mini into two cars in Richmond, South West London. Police said he was twice the drink-driving limit at the time.
He is currently taking a break from live television while he has treatment in rehab.
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