Ant McPartlin was left feeling incredibly emotional as he choked back the tears amid his return to Britain's Got Talent.
The 46-year-old host said that he and co-star were delighted to be back and with an audience for the first time in two years.
It comes after ITV were forced to cancel the show last year as it became impossible to audition acts due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, they had been forced to delay the live semi-finals and final until the autumn, which were largely pre-recorded and involved a remote studio audience.
Addressing the audience, Ant said: "Excuse me while I go and cry. We are so excited to be back. We were gutted to miss last year and not get to see you all. But we’re back, raring to go and have one hell of a show for you."
Meanwhile, the other Britain’s Got Talent stars couldn't hide their happiness at finally being back on the show, but it wasn’t long before the claws came out.
David Williams had a dig at Simon Cowell for taking so long to propose to Lauren Silverman.
After one act incorporated their engagement into a London Palladium audition on Sunday, David joked: “It was good you brought it up to date with the engagement. I mean, they only had a kid seven years ago. He took his time.”
Having none of it, Simon hit back with “hopefully mine will last longer than yours, David”, in reference to his fellow judge’s five-year marriage to supermodel Lara Stone.
Cowell said: “I’m so excited we’re back! I can see people! I feel emotional.”
Amanda Holden said: “I feel really choked up. It’s so great to see you all.”
*Read the full Tony Cowell column in Best magazine, on sale today.
