By Andrew Bullock For Mailonline
Published: 08:47 BST, 8 April 2019 | Updated: 08:53 BST, 8 April 2019
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There was talk of him replacing Ant McPartlin on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here last year, while he went to rehab.
But Stephen Mulhern admits it's not something he could have done - partly because he's a man.
'You couldn’t have gone with another guy. It had to be a female host. It was the best possible choice,' he told The Sun.
'It couldn't be a guy!' Stephen Mulhern has said that his gender was the reason he didn't replace Ant McPartlin on I'm A Celeb 2018 (making way for Holly Willoughby to step in instead)
The job went to Holly Willoughby in the end, who worked alongside Ant's long-running presenting partner Declan Donnely.
'Holly was perfect. Holly and Dec worked a treat,' Stephen added.
Bookies at the time believed Holly or Stephen would definitely be the producers' first choices for Ant's stand-in, being regulars on ITV.
Stephen notably works alongside Ant and Dec on their shows Saturday Night Takeaway and Britian's Got Talent.
Reasoning: 'You couldn’t have gone with another guy. It had to be a female host. It was the best possible choice,' Stephen said
Jungle Jane: The job went to Holly Willoughby in the end
The family are back together: Ant is back on BGT and will be back to the jungle this November for I'm A Celeb 2019. Saturday Night Takeaway will return in 2020
Last year, when Ant first experienced troubles in his personal life - including painkiller addiction and a messy
