Stephen Mulhern received a hero's welcome as he finally returned to Saturday Night Takeaway after a long break due to illness.
The Catchphrase and In For A Penny host has been a big hit with ITV viewers for years now, so there was concern for him as he was suddenly missing from the show after a brief appearance at the start of its new series. Stephen finally addressed his absence earlier this month, when he took to Twitter to post: "Hello all, Sorry I’ve been quiet on here 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.
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He ended the post: "Please don’t miss me too much!"
Stephen made his Takeaway comeback a week after the show was cancelled due to the rugby, to join Ant and Dec and guests Michael Buble and Anna Maxwell-Martin in the studio. And he received quite a welcome as he made his way to the stage.
The studio audience were on their feet chanting his name as he walked down the steps to be greeted by the Geordie hosts. Talking about his time off the show, Stephen said: "I haven't been too well. Thanks for all of your lovely messages."
He added: "Do you know something? Forget about all of that as the show must go on!"
Stephen was back on Saturday Night Takeaway to host a round of Ant vs Dec, which Dec won. This week's episode also saw the presenters cross live to Newcastle as Andi Peters broadcast live from Sushi Me Rollin' on Grey Street.
