Ant McPartlin makes 'sad' admission about leaving six-month-old son for ITV I'm A Celebrity: 'Gonna be difficult'
ITV
The presenter welcomed his first child earlier this year
Ant and Dec will be returning to screens this weekend for a new series of ITV favourite, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
The ITV reality show has entertained fans for decades, having debuted way back in 2002, and there have so far been no hints of an ending in sight.
However, McPartlin, 48, welcomed his first child this year with wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46.
Now a father, it seems McPartlin has some reservations about jetting off to Australia for three weeks to film the popular show.
A report suggests the presenter is feeling "really emotional" about leaving his baby son in the UK as he ventures Down Under for series 24.
"Ant is feeling really emotional about being so far away from Anne-Marie and Wilder," a source commented.
Anne-Marie Corbett and Ant McPartlin welcomed their first child together this year
Getty
Speaking to OK! Magazine, they continued: "It's the longest he has left them for and it's going to be so difficult."
The Geordie duo stunned fans earlier last year when they announced their other long-running series, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, would be coming to an end.
The two explained in an Instagram post: "We love making Saturday Night Takeaway, but reaching the milestone of 20 series seemed like the perfect time to pause for a little while and catch our breath."
Donnelly added: "We still have a momentous 20th series to look forward to first so we will do our best to go out (for now) with a bang in 2024."
"Next year in 2024 it will be the 20th series of Saturday Night Takeaway and we’ve got some very special look-backs planned, as well as some very exciting new items," McPartlin went on.
"And we’ve also decided that our 20th series next year will be our last one for a little while. The show takes up such a lot of our year, we just feel we need a little bit of a breather, and that the show is going to take a little bit of a rest," his long-term co-star concluded.
Speaking later to Fault magazine, McPartlin hinted that the reason for concluding the show was to spend more time with h is family.
"On a more personal level, part of the reason we're pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family," he told the publication.
"We've both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit. We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now."
McPartlin has been married to Corbett since 2021, and their first child together, Wilder Patrick McPartlin, was born earlier this year.
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Ant and Dec recently concluded their long-running show, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
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The proud dad took to Instagram at the time to share the sweet announcement ad he penned: "Welcome to the family, Wilder Patrick Mcpartlin.
"Born, 14/05/24 at 8.54 am. Baby is beautiful, Mummy’s a legend, Sisters are over the moon. Dad’s a mess!"
Corbett, who has two daughters from a previous relationship, has seemingly settled into family life with the popular television presenter.
The presenting duo will be on hand to welcome 10 new celebs into the Australian jungle this weekend, with Oti Mabuse, GK Barry and Danny Jones among the famous faces.