Entertainment
Ant and Dec forced to miss Britain’s Got Talent magician spin-off as Stephen Mulhern steps in-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro
The duo have ‘postponed all work commitments’.
The duo have to miss out on the BGT special (Picture: Dymond/Thames/Rex/Shutterstock)
Among their many work commitments, Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are known across the nation for hosting Britain’s Got Talent, which has been going for 15 years.
However, the duo are having to miss out on the upcoming spin-off special Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician as well as the National Television Awards, because they’ve both been struck down by illness.
Nonetheless, fellow ITV dab hand Stephen Mulhern will be stepping up to the plate in their absence to take on BGT hosting duties.
In a statement sent to Metro.co.uk, a spokesperson explained that Ant and Dec have had to put ‘all work commitments’ on hold, after the pair were recently seen in South Africa for the all-stars series for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
They said: ‘Ant and Dec are both unwell and have postponed all work commitments until they recover.
‘Sadly, this means they were unable to film Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician. Whilst we wish them a speedy recovery, we are thrilled to confirm that BGT’s favourite magician, Stephen Mulhern has stepped in.’
Stephen presented Britain’s Got More Talent from 2007 to 2019 (Picture: David Fisher/Rex/Shutterstock)
The BGT magician-focused special was only announced earlier this week, with an air date yet to be revealed.
In a post shared on social media, the account for the series said: ‘Over the years we’ve witnessed some of the most spellbinding magic acts take to the #BGT stage, now they’re going head-to-head with some of the world’s most talented magicians!
‘Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician, coming soon to @ITV and @WeAreSTV.’
American magician Penn Jillette, dubbed a ‘magician extraordinaire’ and ‘King of SIn City’, was also unveiled as a guest judge alongside ‘our much-loved judging panel’.
In 2016, Richard Jones became the first and only magician to ever win Britain’s Got Talent.
He went on to star on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions in 2019, where he reached the top three of his preliminary round.
However, he didn’t manage to reach the finals, while salsa dancers Paddy & Nico and illusionist Darcy Oake made it through to the next round.
In the end, comic dance duo Twist and Pulse were the overall winners of the competition.
Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician will air on ITV.
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