Ant McPartlin arrives at court ahead of hearing

Ant McPartlin arrived half an hour before the case was due to start

TV presenter Ant McPartlin has arrived at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court ahead of his court appearance.

The 42-year-old star, charged with drink driving, was dropped off at the London court in a black Mercedes.

He was charged after allegedly being involved in a collision with two other cars while driving his Mini in Richmond, London, on 18 March.

Mr McPartlin arrived wearing a black suit, white shirt and black tie amid a media scrum at the court entrance.

A drink driving conviction could lead to a driving ban of at least a year, an unlimited fine and up to six months in prison.

Ant and Dec have worked together since they were children

Mr McPartlin is currently seeking rehabilitation treatment. After he was charged, his publicist confirmed the presenter was taking time off from his TV commitments.

The Britain's Got Talent and Saturday Night Takeaway star first entered a rehabilitation centre in June 2017, after developing an addiction to prescription painkillers following a knee operation in 2015.

He later said he was "overwhelmed" by the public support.

Co-presenter Declan Donnelly hosted the final two episodes of Saturday Night Takeaway alone and will also host Britain's Got Talent on his own, although Mr McPartlin was seen on the ITV show over the weekend as the talent show aired its pre-recorded audition shows.

Dec (centre) was joined by Scarlett Moffatt and Stephen Mulhern on Saturday Night Takeaway

Ant and Dec have established themselves as one of Britain's most popular double acts and, for the 17th consecutive year, were voted by viewers as TV's best entertainment presenters at the National Television Awards in January.