Piers Morgan has said he “hates” watching what Ant McPartlin is going through right now.
The Good Morning Britain host took to Twitter after Ant, 42, was charged with drink-driving following a three-car collision in South West London on Sunday afternoon.
Read more: Ant McPartlin charged with drink-driving
Reacting to photos of Ant taken on Wednesday, Piers, 52, said: “Hate to see Ant McPartlin like this. He’s a great guy (genuinely, a delight to work with in an industry full of…. less delightful people) who’s obviously going through a lot of inner turmoil.
“Just hope he now gets the proper time & help he needs to sort himself out.”
Ant has announced he’s returning to treatment and stepping down from current TV commitments in the wake of Sunday’s arrest.
He is due at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court on April 4.
This weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Takeaway has been cancelled, but the final two episodes of the series will go ahead as planned with Declan Donnelly fronting them.
In an emotional statement, Dec said: “Whilst I never thought I’d be in this position, after much discussion and careful consideration we’ve decided that the remaining two shows of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead.”
“We made a promise to take hundreds of deserving winners to Florida to watch the series finale, and we will honour that.
“Everyone at ITV and the Takeaway team feels we owe it to the audience to complete the series.”
He signed off: “Dec x.”
On GMB yesterday, Piers had urged Dec to continue alone while Ant escapes the spotlight.
“You can see what’s going through [Dec’s] mind. He’s devastated for his mate but he’s also worried about the Ant & Dec brand, it’s the biggest in the country on television,” he said.
“I think the time has come, given it’s the second time around now in the last 18 months… it’s not selfish but he has to look after himself, too. He’s a very successful guy in his own right as well.”
Piers concluded by saying: “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to feel sorry for Ant on a human level. As a mate, I hate seeing him like this. It’s awful.
“But there is also a point when a lot of other people are affected by this and I do think the show has to go on.”
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