Britain’s Got Talent viewers said host Declan Donnelly “smashed it” as he hosted the show alone for the first time.

The presenter fronted the ITV programme’s first live semi-final by himself because his comedy partner Ant McPartlin has stepped back from his work commitments after being charged with drink-driving earlier this year, which saw him banned from the road for 20 months and fined £86,000.

The episode got off to a shaky start when technical problems caused by the weather interrupted the programme for several minutes.

But fans thought Donnelly did admirably by himself.

“Dec is an absolute gem,” one person said on Twitter, while another said he was “smashing it”.

Others said the star was doing “a great job”.

The duo have fronted BGT since its inception in 2007 and have a golden buzzer option on the show which allows them to send an act directly to the competition’s live semi-final.

Many viewers said it was odd to see one without the other.

“Absolutely devastating seeing just dec,” tweeted one fan.

Another person said: “Damn seeing Dec without Ant is like having an apple crumble without custard, a roast without gravy, pizza without tomato sauce, fish without chips…”

Britain’s Got Talent continues on ITV.