ant, anthony mcpartlin, drink driving, crash

Anthony McPartlin drink driving: Why was Ant suspended from I’m A Celeb in 2018?

‘He could have put my daughter in a wheelchair’

3 years ago

It’s an absolute treat to have Ant and Dec back on our screens for what is a very welcome season of I’m A Celeb this year. They never seem to miss a beat, and are undoubtedly the best and most popular presenting duo on British TV screens. Therefore, whenever one is seen without the other, it’s clearly noticeable – and never has it been more obvious than in 2018 when Ant McPartlin was replaced by Holly Willoughby in the jungle.

Most people are aware that Ant was arrested for drink driving in 2018, but what caused him to become addicted to alcohol and pain killers? How long did Ant spend in rehab? And does Ant McPartlin still drink? Here is everything we know about Ant McPartlin’s suspension from I’m A Celeb in 2018 due to drink driving.

It all started in 2015 when Ant was admitted to hospital for an operation on his knee. On returning home, he was advised to take prescription painkillers due to the surgery not going to plan. He became addicted to the medication, and over the next two years subsidised this addiction with alcohol.

In June 2017, he went into rehab for alcohol and painkiller addiction and was released two months later. However, in March 2018 he was involved in the above crash in London which ended up sending a little girl to hospital.

Speaking to The Sun, the lady who was involved in the crash said she had to be held back following the incident: “I don’t care whether he’s a millionaire and I don’t care whether he’s a famous TV star — he could have put my daughter in a wheelchair. I was so angry with him I lost my cool and tried to run up to him and smash his face — I had to be held back.

“I had been sitting in the back seat and didn’t realise it then but my face had hit a headrest and my lip was bleeding. After I calmed down someone asked him if he was ok but he never said a word to us and never apologised. His mum just said, ‘We’re ok,’ and started getting their dogs out of the car. The horn of his car was blaring and my little girl was crying in shock. It was a terrible, chaotic scene.”

Ant McPartlin admits he has ‘let a lot of people down’ after pleading guilty to driving more than twice the legal alcohol limit. The television presenter has been banned from driving for 20 months and fined £86,000 https://t.co/iFMpA3TGPP pic.twitter.com/8BQNF3OKD5

— ITV News (@itvnews) April 16, 2018

He was swiftly suspended from all future television commitments to return to rehab and was charged with drink driving in April. This resulted in a 20-month driving ban and a fine of £86,000. From this point on he would not return to television presenting until 2019, being replaced by Holly Willoughby for the 2018 series of I’m A Celebrity.

In September 2018 he confirmed that he had been sober for six months following the incident, and although it’s uncertain if Ant still drinks nowadays, in July 2018 he was seen with an Alcoholics Anonymous tattoo on his wrist.