In a tabloid-rocking, nation-shocking development, Dec will appear without Ant this weekend. Troubled presenter Anthony McPartlin is absent from our screens following his drink-driving arrest and return to rehab, leaving best buddy Declan Donnelly to helm ITV’s Saturday Night Takeaway on his own.  

However, devotees shouldn’t despair. Why? Well, because the third star of the show is the format itself. And as Meat Loaf once sang, two out of three ain’t bad.

Back in 2002, still in their mid-twenties, Ant and Dec’s TV presenting CV was limited to children’s hit SM:TV, BBC gameshow Friends Like These and one series of Pop Idol, plus some holiday cover on The Big Breakfast. They drew on all this experience,...