Prince Harry has written a letter of support to Ant McPartlin after he revealed he’d voluntarily checked in to rehab for his addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol.
The 41-year-old presenter – who usually hosts alongside his best friend Dec Donnelly – has been blown away by the amount of people who have rallied around him since he announced he was seeking help for his mental health issues, but he has admitted he was shocked when he was given a handwritten note from the flame-haired hunk.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: "I woke up this morning, getting ready to come here, and was given an envelope.
"It was a handwritten note from Harry sending all of his best wishes on behalf of him, William and Catherine and telling me well done for speaking out. Obviously he leads the Heads Together charity, so it’s something he encourages. I wish I’d spoken out a lot earlier. But what a great time to get that letter. Brilliant. Thanks, Haz."
Ant checked into rehab in June after he was rushed to hospital at 5am following an "insane" binge of painkillers tramadol and morphine, along with alcohol, while recovering from knee surgery, but has since left the facility and is back home.
He said: "I was at the point where anything — prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs — I would take. And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, ‘You could have killed yourself’. "
As well as the painkillers, the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ star was prescribed sleeping pills to help him through the nights following surgery this year, but was also drinking heavily.
While Ant – who began taking prescription drugs after damaging his knee in 2014 and had a botched operation that left him in agony the following year – knows his wealth made it easier to get treatment, it also made it easier for him to get his hands on the strong painkillers as he could afford to visit multiple doctors for more prescriptions.