Fans of ITV's hit Saturday night show Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway will be pleased to know the comedic duo's fellow presenter, Stephen Mulhern, will be back on the little screen this evening. The popular London-born presenter, comedian and magician, 44, had missed the last few episodes of the series due to illness, with doctors having advised him to rest and recuperate at home.
In a post on Twitter on March 12, Stephen said: "Hello all, sorry I’ve been quiet on here [social media] recently and thank you for all your lovely messages. I’ve had some time off and been resting up on doctors orders. I’m on the mend, I’m happy to say, and looking forward to getting back to work soon. In the meantime, I’ll put my feet up and watch Saturday Night Takeaway tonight with the rest of you lot. Please don’t miss me too much! Lots of love, Stephen. X"
Tonight, Stephen is back on our screens - as confirmed by Ant and Dec on their Twitter page today (Saturday, March 26). Shortly after 2pm, the pair shared a short video clip of them running around the television studios where the series is filmed, telling crew "Saturday Night Take Away is back tonight." At three different points of the clip, the pair can be seen in their dressing room backstage with Stephen - subtly telling us that he is on-set ready to return for tonight's episode.
Read more: Little Ant and Dec: What became of the doppelgangers who 'outgrew' Saturday Night Takeaway
ITV has also confirmed that Stephen, who also presents Catchphrase and Celebrity Catchphrase and was often seen on children's TV in the mid to late 2000s, will be making a return tonight. A spokesperson for ITV said: "Stephen Mulhern is back with brand new Ant vs Dec and Michael Bublé will be with us for a very special End of the Show Show."
Stephen has not yet shared publicly what he has been suffering from, but a source reportedly told The Sun on Sunday earlier this month that Stephen had had to have an operation. The source reportedly said: "Stephen went to hospital for a medical procedure, but has been discharged now and is focusing all his energy on his recovery. He’s hoping to return to the show as soon as he’s feeling better and well enough. He’s currently resting up and supporting the lads from home."
After he tweeted that he would be missing Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, more than 14,000 people liked Stephen's Tweet whilst hundreds of friends and fans sent him their best wishes for a speedy recovery, or commented to say they were glad to see Stephen back on social media. Among them, choreographer, theatre producer and Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner said: "Glad to have you back!" whilst a fan, Paul Nicholls, said: "You always make me laugh and I think you are one of the funniest people on the telebox. Get well and take some time out and I for one look forward to your return. UN - BELIEVABLE!"
Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway is a popular family-friendly ITV series full of games, pranks and comedy and usually runs every Saturday for a few months a year. Whilst the series began a few weeks back, and was expected to run every week for the next few months, fans were left fuming last week and the week before as the show was temporarily cancelled to make way for live coverage of the Six Nations rugby.
After its two-week hiatus, the hit show is back at 7pm tonight with stars Ant, Dec and Stephen Mullhern all in attendance. They'll be joined with Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, who is this week's celebrity guest.
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