TV presenters Ant and Dec return to Saturday night TV this weekend as Saturday Night Takeaway makes its return to ITV.
The pair are back on primetime after November's I'm a Celebrity saw the pair and the celebrities return to the jungle in Australia after two years in Wales. And as they do the publicity trail for their new SNT series, the Ant and Dec have been asked about how they really felt about serving MP and former Health Secretary, Matt Hancock entering the jungle.
The politician, who was found to have broken lockdown rules he had set in place, and the ITV received backlash with the hosts saying it was 'very difficult' to have him there but had to remain impartial.
Read more: The One Show's Alex Jones calls Ant and Dec 'beyond a joke' over prank that 'almost fell apart'
Speaking to the Huffington Post, Dec said: "I think it’s very difficult not to [feel that way]."
He added: "We were all affected by decisions that he made and situations he created, so it was very, very difficult. But we tried incredibly hard to be impartial and to put that to one side. And I hope we did it."
Ant went on to explain that the majority of celebs that take part in the show come with some sort of "baggage".
However, he said that once they're in the camp they become campmates and the hosts need to treat each of them equally.
“It doesn’t matter who you are," added Ant. "Boy George did [have baggage]. Matt Hancock did. Probably all of the campmates [last] year came with a history. But once they’re in there, they’re campmates, so we have to treat them like campmates, and let them tell their stories.
Ant said the mick was taken out of all the contestants adding: "We tried to be as fair, and as even, as possible to all of them.”
Critics at the time claimed it was inappropriate for Hancock to have signed up for the show at all, with Dec agreeing that their point had 'some validity' He said: “That is a really interesting point of view. And, of course, [it] has some validity.
“I think it was interesting to allow him his say and to hear things from his point of view. Like I say, it was a situation that we all lived through, and he was at the centre of it.."
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