Simon Cowell stands by Ant McPartlin during his absence

Simon Cowell has shown his support for Ant, as he acknowledged his attempt to tackle his demons, saying: 'The most important thing is he’s manned up, he’s going to get himself back together. And the show goes on, it’s as simple as that.'

Ant has ruled himself out of any shows this year while he goes into rehab after his drink-driving accident last month.

Talking to The Sun newspaper, Simon said: "We’ve known each other a long time, and you stand by the people you work with over the years, for the obvious reasons. We always stand by our friends. We’re all human".

Simon also said the door is definitely open for Ant to return fully in 2019.

Talking about Dec, Simon showed his support by saying “I’ve always realised with these guys that if and when something like this was going to happen, as Dec proved the other day, he’d deal with it."

“You know what, Ant a million per cent would be supportive of this. It shows Dec’s professionalism and what he feels about the show.”.