Ant McPartlin is arrested by police after 'drink drive crash'

[dutchman]

Girl, three, is taken to hospital after TV star's car hit two vehicles



Ant McPartlin has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after smashing into two cars.

A girl of three was taken to hospital after the troubled I'm A Celebrity host, 42, lost control of his Mini with his mum inside.

The star, who is worth £60million, failed a roadside breathalyser test and was taken away by cops in the back of a police car for questioning.

The TV host lost control of his black Mini on a roundabout and went head-on into a green Mini containing a couple and their young child.

His car, with a distinctive double red stripe, hit a maroon BMW and ended upon the opposite side of the road.

His mum Christine and Labrador Hurley were in the car with him, and all three were said to be unhurt.

The child in the green Mini was taken to hospital and the girl’s mum appeared to have minor injuries, a witness said.

Amy Cassie, 23, who helped Ant's mum get the dog out of the car, said: “Ant seemed furious after crashing the car and was shouting at his mum who was also in the car. She was trying to get him to calm down.

She continued: “The police took him to the back of the police car to remove him from the situation.

“The couple in the green Mini were really shaken up and their child, who was a girl, could only have been about three years old.

“Ant and his mum didn’t seem to have any injuries, but the mum in the green car had split her lip and the side of her face was very red."

Police, paramedics and firefighters attended the scene in Mortlake, South West London, and the busy road was closed.

[rebbonk]

Sadly, this was only a matter of time. The poor guy seems to have gone completely off the rails.

[dutchman]

Ant McPartlin back in rehab as Saturday Night Takeaway is cancelled this Saturday

Ant McPartlin will step down from television commitments for the “foreseeable future” as he re-enters rehab following his arrest.

The news comes just a day after the star was arrested for 'drink-driving' following a three-car crash in Richmond, London.

In a statement, ITV confirmed that this week's Saturday Night Takeaway would be cancelled, while the remaining two episodes will be "reviewed" this week.

“ITV has taken a joint decision with Ant and Dec’s team not to broadcast Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend," the statement read.

“We will be reviewing options for the last two episodes of the series (March 31 and April 7) which would not feature Ant who is taking time off to seek treatment.

The spokesperson concluded: “We very much hope that he gets the help that he needs."

A spokesman for McPartlin told The Sun: "Ant has decided to go back into treatment and step down from his current TV commitments.

“He has spoken with Dec and ITV today and asked for time off for the foreseeable future.

“As such ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ will not be going ahead this Saturday."

The popular Saturday-night entertainment show sees Ant and long-term professional partner Declan Donnelly live on television for 90 minutes each Saturday, with their finale originally due to air live from Florida in a few weeks’ time.

Not one word of sympathy for the three-year-old girl who was injured or her mother!

[dutchman]

Ant and Dec lose advertising deal with Suzuki



Ant and Dec have lost a lucrative advertising deal with Suzuki, the car manufacturer, two days after television presenter Anthony McPartlin was charged with drink-driving.

Suzuki will continue to sponsor the remaining two episodes in the current series of McPartlin and Declan Donnelly’s Saturday Night Takeaway show, but they will no longer appear in commercials.

“We agree with ITV and Ant and Dec that it was the correct decision not to broadcast Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend,” Suzuki said on Friday.

“As a car brand, we recognise the seriousness of Ant’s charge. We completely support Ant’s decision to seek treatment.

“Suzuki will however continue to sponsor the last two episodes of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway with our current idents.

“Suzuki very much supports Dec and ITV’s decision to broadcast the shows and as headline sponsors we also want to support the competition winners who have won places on the plane to Florida for the series finale.”

McPartlin, 42, was charged on Wednesday and is due to appear at Wimbledon magistrates court on 4 April following a collision on Lower Richmond Road, in south-west London, on Sunday.

Donnelly will host Saturday Night Takeaway alone when the programme returns to ITV on 31 March, the channel confirmed.

[rebbonk]

I'm not a fan of Ant and Dec at all. In fact I think they're totally talent-less. However, others (as is their right) disagree with me.

Sadly, by his actions, he is going to take his partner down with him.

[dutchman]

Ant McPartlin will be on Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend - despite being dropped by ITV

Ant McPartlin will feature in this weekend's Saturday Night Takeaway - in a sketch which was pre-recorded for the TV show.

Entitled Saturday Knight Takeaway, the "whodunnit" sketch also stars Michael Sheen, David Walliams, Joanna Lumley and Emilia Fox.

Last weekend's ITV show was postponed and co-host McPartlin, 42, has been charged with drink-driving and returned to rehab.

The Sun said there were talks on whether the pre-recorded whodunnit sketch should continue when Saturday Night Takeaway returns this weekend.

But it was decided that the final two instalments - previous episodes aired earlier in the hit series - should be broadcast.

[dutchman]

Ant McPartlin fined £86,000 for drink-driving



The TV presenter Ant McPartlin has been fined £86,000 and disqualified from driving for 20 months after admitting drink-driving.

The 42-year-old entertainer crashed into two vehicles after taking a corner at speed while under the influence in Richmond, south-west London, last month. He was more than twice the legal limit.

On Monday, at Wimbledon magistrates court in south-west London, district judge Barbara Barnes told the the Saturday Night Takeaway host he had let down many people including his fans. “I think it will have quite an impact on you to know that you are no longer a man of good character but you carry a [criminal] record,” she said.

McPartlin spoke in court only to confirm his personal details and enter his guilty plea. But, through his lawyer, he expressed his remorse for what had happened.

While driving his car under the influence of alcohol, he hit a green Mini and then a red BMW as he lost control after the initial collision. In impact statements read in court, the respective drivers of the cars he crashed into said they were left heavily shaken.

Faheem Vanoo, the driver of the green Mini, said his vehicle could have been hit front-on if he had not taken evasive action. “We believe we could have died as a result of Mr McPartlin’s reckless driving,” he said.

The driver of the BMW, named only as Dr Ng, said immediately after the collision her nine-year-old son, who was uninjured but in shock, told her: “I am dying, Mummy, I am dying.” She said she was suffering from neck pain and her right knee was too painful to walk on.

Farcical, anyone else would have been jailed!

[rebbonk]

Farcical, anyone else would have been jailed!

Not necessarily. My ex-wife did something very similar (she held the local record for the highest breathalyser reading at one point I believe) and only got a slap on the wrist plus a very modest fine. - OK it was 20 odd years ago.