Ant McPartlin welled up after a child contestant on Britain's Got Talent told him that she missed him during his brief hiatus from TV.
McPartlin stepped back from his work commitments early last year, leaving Declan Donnelly to present the BGT live shows alone, as he concentrated on his recovery from addiction after a short stay in rehab and an arrest for drink-driving.
After performing with her classmates, a little girl in a green spotted dress jumped into McPartlin’s arms and told him: “I missed you.”
Wrapping his arms around her, McPartlin replied “I missed you too” before saying bye to her and putting her down to join the rest of her act.
“Love you lots. See you again,” McPartlin added as he cooed over the sweet moment backstage.
Series 13 marks the first time the duo have worked together in nearly a year, with judge David Walliams branding it “emotional” as they reunited at the auditions earlier this year.
He said: “It was lovely to see when they stepped back on the stage together in London. How excited people were to see them together.
“It was really emotional and I was pleased for them. It was just how it always was.”
Fellow judge Amanda Holden also rejoiced at having McPartlin back, saying it was “not the same” without him on stage last year.
Elsewhere in the first episode, Simon Cowell was left cowering behind his hands as the Vardanyan Brothers popped in for a spot of sword balancing.
The terrifying duo, who live in Russia, wowed the audience with their topless balancing act but had everyone on the edge of their seats when it looked like their dangerous act was about to go very, very wrong.
Mercifully, they had a second attempt and managed to execute the routine perfectly, but poor Cowell was left feeling his heartbeat through his chest as he branded the act the “most dangerous on a Britain's Got Talent show”.
Britain's Got Talent starts Saturday at 7:15pm on ITV, followed by Britain's Got More Talent at 8:35pm on ITV2.
