'He's the loveliest man': Dermot O'Leary praises Michael Buble ahead of BRITs debut

Dermot O'Leary says his thoughts are with Michael Buble after being announced as the new co-host for this year's BRIT Awards.

It was announced yesterday that Dermot would be taking on presenting duties for the awards, after Michael officially stepped down as host.

Michael has pulled out of all of his showbiz commitments after his 2-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016. It was speculated for a while that he would no longer be hosting the awards, but it was officially announced on Monday.

Speculation mounted that Dermot and Emma would be the new hosts when it looked likely that Michael would be stepping down. Ahead of hosting the NTA's in January, Dermot said that if he was asked, he would prefer it was in 'better circumstances'.

'As a host the BRITs are definitely one you'd want to tick off', the X Factor presenter revealed.

'No one wants to take someone's job after such terrible circumstances for Michael', he added.

'He's the loveliest man, so we all wish the best for him and his family'

The BRITs will take place on the 22nd of February.