Dec refused to host I’m A Celeb with a man as only a woman could replace Ant

Declan Donnelly refused to host I'm A Celebrity with another man and was adamant only a woman could replace Ant McPartlin.

Ant pulled out of the 2018 series as he took a break from TV to deal with his personal demons after his drink-driving conviction and a stint in rehab.

Holly Willoughby was drafted in to replace him, and Dec has now revealed he shot down plans to bring in another male host.

Other names including Stephen Mulhern and Phillip Schofield had been linked to the job, but Dec was adamant he wanted a female co-host to present beside him in Australia - and Holly was top of his list.

In their new book Once Upon A Tyne, Dec wrote: "The year that Holly stepped in, it was very strange for me to host a TV show with anyone but Ant.

"Ant and I are both really good mates with Holly and she is a brilliant and accomplished presenter, but I had no real idea how she worked, not she me, and we knew that for the viewers there was a curiosity factor to it...

"Holly did a superb job and was fantastic to work with and once we knew Ant wasn't going to be a part of that series, she was top of my list to host alongside me."

Dec also admitted it would be too strange for another man to be seen as replacing his good pal - and made it clear the job should go to a female host.

He went on: "At first there was a lot of speculation about who it would be, with people saying Stephen Mulhern or Phillip Schofield should get the job.

"But right from the very beginning there was no way I was going to host the show with another male.

"I didn't want to have another man standing on the same side Ant stood.

"I didn't want it to appear that another guy was stepping in to take Ant's place because they weren't and because no one ever could."

Holly was a huge hit with viewers but she made it clear she was just keeping Ant's place until he could return.

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Ant McPartlinDeclan DonnellyI'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of HereReality showsAnt & Dec