Ant McPartlin has taken a step back from an ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ WhatsApp group to "concentrate on himself".
The 43-year-old TV presenter has taken some time off from work commitments after he was convicted of drink-driving earlier this year and had a stint in rehab, and Phillip Schofield has revealed his pal isn’t part of the annual chat with his usual co-host Declan Donnelly and Holly Willoughby, who has stepped in for Ant on the reality series.
When asked if Ant has aired his thoughts on the current series, Phil said: "I think Ant is concentrating on himself and so, no, we’re all letting him get well.
"It’s me, Dec and Holly. I started it when they went out. We had a couple of chats before that."
Phil admitted he usually has a group chat with Ant and Dec when they host the Australian jungle-based show, and this year he knew Holly was "comfortable" guest co-hosting the programme when he received a message from her during a commercial break on a live show.
He added to Mirror Online: "Both Ant and Dec and myself have also got a WhatsApp group for when they were out there. They’re very much like me. You can text or WhatsApp someone during a commercial break or long VT.
"It took Holly a day or two to settle in. I got the first WhatsApp from her on the group during a commercial break and though, ‘That’s it, she’s comfortable.’ "
Dec previously admitted he didn’t want another guy to replace Ant on this year’s show.
Speaking last month, he said: "As always I’m incredibly excited to be heading to Oz for ‘I’m A Celebrity’.
"It is obviously tinged with sadness that Ant won’t be coming this year, I’m going to really miss him, but it’s only for one series and he’ll be back stronger next year.
"I didn’t want to host this series with another guy so Holly was top of my list."
Ant McPartlin ‘leaves I’m A Celebrity WhatsApp group to concentrate on recovery’
