Holly Willoughby confirmed to present I'm A Celebrity 2018 - replacing Ant McPartlin
As Mirror Online exclusively revealed this month, Holly Willoughby will join Declan Donnelly on I'm A Celebrity 2018
Holly Willougby has broken her silence for the first time since the Mirror exclusively revealed she was replacing Ant McPartlin on this year's I'm A Celebrity.
ITV today confirmed that Holly will be joining Declan Donnelly in Australia to co-host this year’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!
The This Morning host revealed: "I couldn't be more excited to have been asked to stand alongside Dec for the next jungle adventure.
"I love Ant and want to send him my best wishes and support for a continued recovery. These are big shoes, not to fill, but just to keep warm for a little bit."
READ MORE: Holly Willoughby WILL host I'm A Celebrity as Ant McPartlin's replacementShe added: "Honestly, I'm a huge fan of I'm A Celebrity and actually feel like I've won a competition to go and hang out on my favourite show! When is it a good time to tell Dec I'm scared of everything that moves?"
Dec added: "I am hugely grateful to Holly for agreeing to accompany me to Australia this year. She was at the top of my list and I'm thrilled she said yes.
"It will be a different kind of series but we will try our best to ensure it is no less fun and eventful for our loyal viewers. I am also pleased to hear Holly is scared of everything. I am almost stupidly excited at the thought of watching her during the eating trials."
We announced the news back on August 10 that Holly was ITV's favourite to stand in for Ant after he decided to pull out of the show to focus on his sobriety.
READ MORE: I'm A Celebrity 2018 line-up - rumoured contestants from Danny Dyer and Nigel Farage to Olivia Attwood and Kieran HaylerAnd we exclusively revealed she was 100% confirmed to go in last week - with our insider revealing ITV were stalling on making an announcement because they wanted to be sure she could fit the show around her other family and work commitments.
"It's been in the works for weeks as ITV were really keen on getting her in," said our well-placed source.
Ant McPartlin quits I'm A Celeb
We even revealed that Dec had been the one to suggest Holly as his co-star, which he confirmed today.
"Dec first brought up Holly last year, after Ant went into rehab the first time.
"Obviously Ant then decided he could manage I'm A Celeb but, if you remember, they put that joke in the very first show about Holly being Ant's replacement," our insider pointed out.
"It was clear last year whoever ITV brought in would have to be different from Ant.
"Little did they know at the time Holly would actually end up fronting the show herself."
ITV's director of television Ken Lygo said of their decision: "Holly is a brilliant presenter with a wicked sense of humour who has always enjoyed a great friendship and rapport with Ant and Dec – I have no doubt she will take to Jungle life, if not the critters, really quickly."
I'm A Celeb is one of ITV's biggest reality shows and will this year celebrate its 16th anniversary - but it'll be the first time Ant and Dec aren't presenting together.
ITV are yet to announce the launch date, but we can expect it to fall some time in mid-November.
It means Holly and Dec will have to fly out to Australia up to a week before the first show, and it's expected Holly will bring her three young children with her - despite two of them being of school age.
Poor Phillip Schofield will be left behind in London to front This Morning without his blonde co-star - and ITV has said an announcement on her replacement will be put out "in due course".
The I'm A Celebrity line-up of 2018 is still being kept tightly under wraps, but rumoured cast mates include Danny Dyer, Katie Price's estranged husband Kieran Hayler, Nigel Farage and Love Island's Olivia Attwood.