Ant McPartlin, 42, took a break from his TV commitments to prioritise his health earlier this year following a drink-driving charge in April last year. His break away saw his TV sidekick Declan Donnelly, 42, present Britain’s Got Talent alone and co-present I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! with Holly Willoughby. Despite this, Ant and Dec won the National Television Award for Best Presenter for the 18th consecutive year. Piers, 53, previously questioned why he was up for the award during an episode of Good Morning Britain.
He said: “They’ll win. Even though Ant’s basically been sitting on his backside, from what I can see walking his dog for the last year. He’s got an award.”
He added: “Me, coal face every morning hours on end, week after week – nothing.”
Now a source has claimed Ant has sent Piers an email addressing his comments.
According to The Mirror, a source said: “Ant sent him an email saying he takes his recovery very seriously and he didn’t appreciate Piers belittling it by saying all he has done is walk the dog.
“Ant did work last year – he presented nearly the whole series of Takeaway and all the audition shows of BGT.
“He then worked hard on his recovery.
“To suggest that all he did was walk the dog insults everyone who is in recovery or suffering from mental health issues.”
Express.co.uk has contacted a representative for Ant McPartlin and Piers Morgan for comment.
Following Ant and Dec’s National Television Award win, Ant told viewers he couldn’t accept the award and thanked his co-star Dec for his work.
In a video call live from the Britain’s Got Talent auditions, he told the audience: “Oh wow, oh wow. Thank you, thank you very much.
“This is a genuine shock, especially this year. I’m shaking here. I want to say thank you to everybody.”
He continued: “I really don’t feel like I can accept this award this year – it has to go to this guy [pointing to Dec] for his hard work, dedication, witty and funniness and for being the best mate out there – I love you, man.”
Dec added: “Thank you to everybody for their kind and thoughtful messages, they’ve kept us going over the last year – this year probably more than ever.”
Following their win, Piers continued to hit out at their award, accusing the public of being “gullible”.
He told ITV viewers: “It was Ant McPartlin’s speech that really cemented it for me.
“You mean, seriously, he hasn’t been on TV for a year.
“The only time he gets out of bed in the morning is to walk the dog!”
He added: “I’m still annoyed, I can’t lie. I’m still annoyed.”