Ant McPartlin will be supported by TV bosses if he wants to take a "12 month sabbatical".
The 41-year-old presenter is set to spend at least two months at a rehab clinic to seek help for his addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol and whilst he has no work scheduled until November, ITV are keen to support him in letting him take as long as he needs to get better.
A television insider said: "It is all still too early to say for sure what will happen, but all anyone wants is for Ant to get well again. He and Dec are the backbone of the ITV family and … Ant has the network’s complete and utter support.
"Formally, Ant has no work commitments until November and obviously the hope is that he will be completely better by then, and able to fulfil them. But ITV will not rush him in any way, and the feeling is he must take as long as he needs.
"If he wants a 12 month sabbatical, frankly he deserves it. The sense is though that both Ant and Dec love working, and Ant will want to get back down to work before the end of the year."
And going forward, Ant – who alongside his longtime friend Dec Donnelly makes up much-loved presenting duo Ant and Dec – is likely to be keen to be selective about the work he does as to not "burn out again".
A source added to the Daily Mail: "Ant knows his health is the number one priority. He will be more selective about the things he says ‘yes’ to going forward, and presumably will be turning down far more work than he accepts. He loves his job, but doesn’t want to burn out again."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for ITV has sent Ant best wishes from everybody at the network.
They said: "We are sending Ant our very best wishes for a speedy recovery and, of course, he has our full support."
Ant McPartlin supported by ITV
