Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have opened up about their friendship struggles and how they give each other ‘space and time’ to maintain their relationship.
The TV presenters, both 48, have announced that the new series of Saturday Night Takeaway will be the last for a while after they decided to rest the show.
The double act have been in showbusiness together for more than 30 years and the upcoming series will be their 20th season of the ITV show.
In a new interview with Flaunt magazine, they discussed how they have maintained their close bond over the three decades they have worked together.
Ant and Dec, who shot to stardom on children’s TV programme Byker Grove, revealed that sometimes their friendship has to be ‘worked on’.
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have opened up about their friendship struggles and how they give each other ‘space and time’ to maintain their relationship
The TV presenters, both 48, have announced that the new series of Saturday Night Takeaway will be the last for a while after they decided to rest the show
They said: ‘But being able to maintain that friendship doesn’t come naturally. Sometimes you have to work with friendships…
‘And sometimes you have to compromise and sometimes you have to give each other space and time and whatever.’
Due to their very close bond, they admitted that some people have speculated that they have previously been intimate with each other.
However they admitted nobody has ever asked them outright and have only ever ‘insinuated’ that they may have had sexual relations.
They said: ‘Has anybody ever asked us that? I don’t think so. There you go, no one has ever asked us if we’ve slept together!
Ant said: ‘There you go. You don’t have to answer it, Dec! People have always insinuated.
Dec chimed in: ‘It’s funny, people have insinuated and speculated.’
When asked if there will ever be another duo like them, Dec admitted he ‘didn’t know’ because there ‘aren’t training grounds available anymore’.
Ant is set to become a father for the first time in June as his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, is pregnant. It will be Ant’s first while Anne-Marie has two children from her previous marriage (L-R Anne-Marie, Ant, Dec and Ali)
He said: ‘We had Saturday mornings and kids’ TV, so we were able to cut our teeth and learn our trade. On the other hand, I suppose our whole career has been built on our friendship.
‘That’s one thing that I think sets us apart a little bit – we have a career that’s built on friendship, not a friendship that’s built on a career. It’s a very significant difference.’
‘There’s not very much of that around. I think that’s partly why people enjoy watching what we do – everybody’s got a best friend. I think people see themselves and their best friends reflected in us.
The Geordie duo will return to ITV1 to front the show’s 20th series at 7pm on February 24, months after announcing its temporary hiatus.
During the interview, Ant publicly addressed his wife’s pregnancy for the first time, saying: ‘We need to spend some time with our family. We’ve both got children.’
In a new interview with Flaunt magazine, they discussed how they have maintained their close bond over the three decades they have worked together
Ant and Dec , who shot to stardom on children’s TV programme Byker Grove, revealed that sometimes their friendship has to be ‘worked on’
Ant is set to become a father for the first time in June as his wife Anne-Marie Corbett, 46, is pregnant. It will be Ant’s first while Anne-Marie has two children from her previous marriage.
Meanwhile Dec shares two children – Isla, age five, and Jack, one, with his wife Ali Astall.
It was rumoured in December last year Anne-Marie could be expecting their first child, after she appeared to be several months pregnant while returning from Dubai.
Speaking to the publication as they posed for animated shots together Ant said: ‘On a more personal level, part of the reason we’re pausing Takeaway is we need a break ourselves, and we need to spend some time with our family.
‘We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit. We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now.’
