Declan Donnelly has hosted Saturday Night Takeaway alone for the first time in the show's history, following co-presenter Ant McPartlin's drink-driving charge.

Kicking off the show, Donnelly quipped that he had "twice the work to do", but little mention was made of McPartlin.

The 42-year-old was joined on the ITV show by Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern in their regular support roles, with the later asking the host if he needed a hand presenting as there was "a little bit of space on the stage", before the pair exchanged a joke about their height difference.

Donnelly also thanked the audience for their "very, very warm reception".

McPartlin was charged with drink-driving following a crash in south-west London earlier in March.

Following his arrest, McPartlin stepped down from his current TV commitments, meaning Donnelly will present both the penultimate and finale episodes of the show alone.

The finale will take place in Florida where winners of a competition run by the show will be taken to the US to watch it.

However, McPartlin was not totally absent from Saturday's show, he appeared in a feature in the episode as part of the duo's pre-recorded Saturday KnightTakeaway sketch after ITV decided it should be broadcast.

Hours before the live show, the programme's official Twitter account previewed the script which confirmed Dec would be hosting alone.

They wrote: "Just a little photo to prove that we don't just wing it, there is actually a script!"

The snap showed the front page of the script which reads, "Hosted by Declan Donnelly".

While on Friday, Donnelly tweeted from the pair's joint account that he was heading to the studio to rehearse for the next day's show.

Donnelly will also present the season's finale in Florida

McPartlin, 42, is due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on April 4.