Holly Willoughby got Ant McPartlin's blessing before taking over from him on 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!'

Holly Willoughby

Holly Willoughby

The 37-year-old presenter will join Declan Donnelly for the upcoming series of the ITV show after Ant took a year off from work to focus on his sobriety and Holly admitted Ant was involved in the discussions about his replacement.

She told the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine: "He was part of the discussion from the off. He's happy that I'm looking after it until he gets back. It does help that we all know each other."

Holly's husband Dan Baldwin will bring their children, Harry, nine, Belle, seven, and three-year-old Chester, out to Australia as she admitted her main concern in taking on the job was being separated from her family for a month.

She said: "Dan will bring them out, so it's a little adventure for them as well. It was an issue. I don't think I could have left them for that long. Obviously they're going to have a tutor, but their school was really understanding.

"They've never been to Australia, but they have some Australian friends at school who've been telling them all about the giant spiders that live down the toilet, so they've been calling them bum-eating spiders."

While Holly's 'This Morning' co-star Phillip Schofield is supportive, she admitted it will be strange for both herself and Dec to work with new partners.

When asked if she will find it weird to present without Phillip, Holly said: "Yes, but I think it's going to be much weirder for Dec. I mean he's only ever worked with Ant."

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