Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The couple married in August 2015

Declan Donnelly has announced that he and his wife Ali Astall are to become parents for the first time.

The presenter confirmed the news on Twitter after a report appeared in The Sun on Sunday.

He said the couple were "delighted" but "the news had sneaked out a little earlier than we had hoped".

Donnelly is currently preparing to host ITV's Saturday Night Takeaway solo, after his co-presenter Ant McPartlin was charged with drink driving.

He will appear in court after being charged with drink driving on 4 April.

The 42-year-old is now receiving treatment for addiction; and has cancelled all his pending TV commitments.

Astall, who was Ant and Dec's manager for more than a decade, married Donnelly in August 2015, with McPartlin acting as their best man.

The couple thanked fans for their messages of support after the pregnancy was revealed, saying: "Thanks for all the love, we really appreciate it D x."

Meanwhile, the details of the first ever episode of Saturday Night Takeaway without McPartlin have been revealed.

Stephen Merchant will be the star guest announcer, while musical guests include The Script and Paloma Faith.

In a statement regarding the remaining episodes of Takeaway, ITV said: "ITV can confirm that Saturday Night Takeaway, presented by Declan Donnelly, will return on March 31, and the series finale will be taking place at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida a week later."

Meanwhile Dec posted a message about taking the stage without his lifelong presenting partner.

"Whilst I never thought I'd be in this position, after much discussion and careful consideration we've decided that the remaining two shows of this series of Saturday Night Takeaway will go ahead," he said.

"We made a promise to take hundreds of deserving winners to Florida to watch the series finale, and we will honour that. Everyone at ITV and the Takeaway team feels we owe it to the audience to complete the series."

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