Ant McPartlin

McPartlin's first appearance on television was on the children's workshop programme Why Don't You?,^[3] but his big break came when he rose to prominence playing the character of PJ in the CBBC series Byker Grove. It was during his time on the programme that he first met Declan Donnelly, who was cast in the part of Duncan. The pair formed a close friendship on the programme, both socially and professionally, with the men performing as their characters until their departure from the programme in 1993. During their tenure, the pair created a number of hit records under the label of "PJ & Duncan AKA", including the song "Tonight I'm Free" that had been performed on Byker Grove.^[4]

From then onwards, McPartlin and Donnelly worked together on television, creating the presenting duo of Ant & Dec. Initially, the pair continued to work in children's television with the Saturday morning hit SMTV Live, before they eventually branched out into gameshows – Friends Like These, PokerFace and Push the Button – along with talent shows – Pop Idol, and Britain's Got Talent – and entertainment programmes – I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The pair continued to maintain work in acting, starring in a tribute to The Likely Lads, in the form of a remake of an episode from the show's sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? entitled "No Hiding Place".^[5] In 2006, McPartlin and Donnelly starred together in the film Alien Autopsy.

In 2007, it was discovered that two shows, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, which he co-presented with Donnelly, had defrauded viewers participating in phone-ins. The latter was produced by the pair's own production company.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2009, Ant & Dec achieved wide international exposure when, as backstage commentators for Britain's Got Talent, they interviewed contestant Susan Boyle, whose audition would become the most-viewed YouTube video of the year and whose record album topped sales charts in dozens of countries.^{[citation needed]}

On 22 July 2006, McPartlin married his longtime girlfriend, make-up artist Lisa Armstrong at Cliveden, a country house hotel in Buckinghamshire.^[6] The couple were married for 11 years before eventually announcing on 15 January 2018 that they were divorcing.^[7][8]

McPartlin was a fervent Labour Party supporter until the 2010 election, when he voted for the Conservative Party. In February 2013, he told The Guardian newspaper that he would struggle to justify voting for either political party in the future.^[9]

In 2015, McPartlin went into hospital for an operation to treat his knee and was advised to take prescription drugs to combat pain after the surgery was botched. Over the course of the following two years, he slowly became addicted to codeine & prescription drugs (one of which being the opioid OxyContin^[10]) along with alcohol, including use before television appearances.

In June 2017, he sought treatment for his addiction to prescription drugs and checked himself in for rehabilitation;^[11] he was released two months later.

On 18 March 2018 McPartlin was involved in a road traffic collision in London, after which he was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. The following day, on 19 March, he met with Donnelly and ITV and suspended further presenting duties to return to rehab for further treatment.^[12][13] On 16 April 2018, he was interviewed under caution and subsequently charged with drink-driving.^[14] McPartlin pleaded guilty to the offence at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court the following month, and was banned from driving for 20 months^[15] and fined £86,000, Britain's highest-ever penalty for drink-driving.^[16] He had previously been banned from driving for 30 days and fined £350 for driving at 127 mph (204 km/h) on the A1(M) motorway.^[17]

In August 2018 McPartlin announced he would be taking a break from television presenting duties until 2019, saying: "My recovery is going very well and for that to continue having spoken to Dec and ITV, I have made the decision to take the rest of the year off."^[18][19]

In January 2019, McPartlin returned to his television duties alongside Donnelly at the Britain's Got Talent auditions.^[20]

On 7 August 2021, McPartlin married Anne-Marie Corbett, who was formerly his personal assistant, at St Michael's Church in Heckfield, Hampshire. They had been in a relationship since 2018.^[21] On 14 May 2024, Corbett gave birth to a baby boy.^[22]

McPartlin and Donnelly are patrons of the charity Sunshine Fund. When their single "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" reached No.1, Ant & Dec donated the single's success to the charity ChildLine. They also support the Text Santa appeal.

They opened the W4 Youth Centre in 2013.^[23]

In 2002, Ant & Dec signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, worth £2m.^[24]

In 2004 they signed their third golden handcuffs deal with ITV, running until the end of 2007.^[25]

In April 2007, the duo signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, reportedly worth £30-40 million, securing their career at the station until the end of 2009.^[26][27]

In 2009 they extended their golden handcuffs deal for two years.^[28] In 2011 they extended their golden handcuffs deal for two years.^[29]

In November 2016 the pair signed a new three-year deal with ITV, estimated to be worth £30 million over 3 years.^[30]

McPartlin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for his services to broadcasting and entertainment.^[31]

The following listed below are the television awards that McPartlin has been nominated for or awarded with, primarily while working alongside Declan Donnelly as Ant & Dec:

• An official Saturday Night Takeaway app known as Studio Rush launched on 30 January 2013.

• "The Media Guardian 100–65 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly". The Guardian. 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
• "The Media Guardian 100–85 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly". The Guardian. 17 July 2006. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
• "The Media Guardian 100–35 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly". The Guardian. 7 July 2003. Retrieved 30 September 2007.

• Official Ant & Dec Website
• Ant McPartlin at IMDb