BGT hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly – which is repeating today (Sunday, May 19) – go together like fish and chips – but the TV pals reportedly faced ‘testing’ times after Ant entered rehab following a drink-driving crash.
Paired up since their days as PJ and Duncan on Byker Grove in the early 1990s, the Saturday Night Takeaway, Britain’s Got Talent, and I’m A Celebrity presenters have proved an enduring double act.
However, despite their close friendship off screen which has seen them both be best man for each other (Dec doing so twice for Ant), Dec has previously admitted to being “incredibly angry” with his telly partner.
Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly friendship
In the summer of 2017, Ant entered rehab for treatment for a prescription drug addiction.
Then, following Ant’s drink-driving incident in early 2018 that saw him fined £86,000, he entered rehab again.
He also took a break from TV for a year to focus on his health and personal issues, with Holly Willoughby stepping in to partner Dec for I’m A Celebrity later in 2018. Dec also made several solo hosting appearances during this period.
Speaking during 2019 show Ant and Dec’s DNA Journey, Dec reflected: “It has been a tough couple of years and it has tested the bond we have shared since we were 13 years old.”
Dec’s ‘anger’
Dec went on to admit: “I was incredibly angry at the start, so angry. Disappointed that he didn’t ever come to me and say ‘I am struggling, I need you’ because that is what I would do if the shoe was on the other foot.
I was incredibly angry at the start, so angry.
“He never came to me and that hurt me a lot.”
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Ant meanwhile also confessed in the programme: “I knew he was angry and understandably so because my action not only affected home but him.
“There was a point where I thought, ‘That was it’, there were times I wasn’t sure it was gonna survive, times that you didn’t know it needed to survive, you wanted it to survive.
“Focusing on me and repairing relationships and being better person working out what was important.”
Dec also indicated how the duo processed their feelings – and managed to move on to continue with their successful telly careers.
Speaking on a Fane podcast, Dec reportedly said: “Because there was so much uncertainty with our career and partnership, we had to really step back and take stock of it all – almost to get our friendship back on track, because I think we’d taken it for granted for too long.”
Read more: Every step of Ant McPartlin’s rebrand – from addict to doting stepdad to wife Anne-Marie’s daughters
Britain’s Got Talent repeats today (Sunday, May 19) at 12.35pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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