Ant McPartlin, who hosts BGT – which is repeating today (Sunday, May 19) – is a telly fave – but it turns out he knew one of his many jobs “wouldn’t last forever”.
Since shooting to fame with best pal Declan Donnelly, Ant and Dec have become TV’s go-to presenting duo. From hosting BGT to their own Saturday Night Takeaway show, the boys have kept busy over the years.
But way back in the day, fans will recall the boys had a short-lived pop career. And despite all the highs that brought, Ant said he “felt like a fraud”.
Ant McPartlin on pop star career before BGT
Following their stint on Byker Grove, Ant and Dec bagged a record deal. Proving they’re not just actors, the boys, as PJ & Duncan, released several hits including the 1994 tune Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble.
The Geordie duo soon packed in their boy band career though, before going on to become the national treasures that they are today. But for Ant, he felt like a “fraud” as they “didn’t grow up wanting to be pop stars”. Speaking about their pop star days, the boys previously opened up during an interview on Audible.
PJ and Duncan days
“We were kind of playing at it, if you know what I mean, we knew we didn’t grow up wanting to become pop stars and here was an opportunity that fell into our lap and we just enjoyed it,” Ant revealed in 2020.
We had fun with it and saw it for what it was.
The TV presenter added: “But I think we knew it wouldn’t last forever so we had fun with it and saw it for what it was.”
Ant McPartlin felt like a ‘fraud’ during pop star career
BGT host Dec then shared how they treated their pop star career as the “next acting job” at the time. He added: “It never really felt like it was us doing it, we always felt like slightly detached from our pop personas.”
Ant then chimed in: “There’s a bit of feeling like a fraud doing it as well because it wasn’t really our love. However much we enjoyed it, we weren’t musicians and we didn’t grow up writing songs. But we had a hell of a – five years? Travelling the world.”
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Britain’s Got Talent repeats today (Sunday, May 19) at 12.35pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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