Ant and Dec ‘unwell’ as National Television Awards appearance in jeopardy

Newcastle icons Ant and Dec may not appear at this year's National Television Awards after falling sick and cancelling “all work commitments”.

The Byker Grove duo have been filming an all-star version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in South Africa and were meant to be fronting a one-off episode of Britain's Got Talent 'The Ultimate Magician'. However, fellow ITV presenter and Britain’s Got Talent favourite Stephen Mulhern had to fill in last minute.

In a statement sent to Metro.co.uk, a spokesperson said: "Ant and Dec are both unwell and have postponed all work commitments until they recover. Sadly, this means they were unable to film Britain’s Got Talent: The Ultimate Magician. Whilst we wish them a speedy recovery, we are thrilled to confirm that BGT’s favourite magician, Stephen Mulhern has stepped in."

It has led to speculation that any appearance at the NTAs on Thursday is now in jeopardy. The duo don't host the event, with that responsibility falling to The Masked Singer and The Masked Dancer frontman Joel Dommett, but were set to be in amongst the audience at The O2 as usual.

It would be a strange NTA event without the Geordie pair who have won an award at the ceremony every year since 2001, including Most Popular Entertainment / TV Presenter 20 times. In 2014 the pair received the NTA Landmark Award for their services to television.

Ant and Dec are up for awards this year too, with the presenters hot favourites for the Best Presenter accolade again, as well as having Saturday Night Takeaway nominated for Best Entertainment.