Ant McPartlin OBE
McPartlin in 2014
Born	Anthony David McPartlin (1975-11-18)18 November 1975 (age 50) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Occupations	Television presenter actor former singer rapper comedian
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Lisa Armstrong ​ ​ (m. 2006; div. 2018)​ Anne-Marie Corbett ​ (m. 2021)​
Children	1
Anthony McPartlin's voice from the BBC programmeDesert Island Discs, 29 December 2013.[1]

Anthony David McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) is an English television presenter, television producer, comedian, former singer, rapper and actor. He is best known for working alongsideDeclan Donnelly as part of the presentingduoAnt & Dec.

McPartlin came to prominence, alongside Donnelly, in the children's drama seriesByker Grove, with both of the boys establishing successful careers as television presenters, in which they presentedSMTV Live (between 1998 and 2001),I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! andAnt & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2002–2024), andBritain's Got Talent (since 2007).

Other notable highlights of McPartlin's career alongside Donnelly include presentingPokerFace,Push the Button,Pop Idol, andRed or Black?, being hosts of charity appealText Santa (between 2011 and 2014), and also performing as pop music duoPJ & Duncan.

McPartlin's first appearance on television was on the children's workshop programmeWhy Don't You?,^[3] but his big break came when he rose to prominence playing the character of PJ in theCBBC seriesByker Grove. It was during his time on the programme that he first metDeclan 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 onByker Grove.^[4]

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

In 2007, it was discovered that two shows,Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon andAnt & 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 forBritain's Got Talent, they interviewed contestantSusan 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 artistLisa Armstrong atCliveden, acountry house hotel in Berkshire.^[6] The couple were married for 11 years before eventually announcing on 15 January 2018 that they were divorcing.^[7][8]

McPartlin was a ferventLabour Party supporter until the2010 election, when he voted for theConservative Party. In February 2013, he toldThe 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 alcohol, codeine and prescription drugs, includingopioidOxyContin, including use before television appearances.^[10] In June 2017, he sought treatment for his addiction to prescription drugs and checked himself in forrehabilitation;^[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 ofdrink-driving. The following day, on 19 March, he met with Donnelly andITV 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 atWimbledon Magistrates' Court the following month, and was banned from driving for 20 months^[15] and fined £86,000, believed to be Britain's highest-ever penalty for drink-driving at the time.^[16] He had previously been banned from driving for 30 days and fined £350 for driving at 127 mph (204 km/h) on theA1(M) motorway in 2002.^[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 theBritain's Got Talent auditions.^[20] The same month, he disclosed that he had been diagnosed withattention deficit hyperactivity disorder.^[21]

On 7 August 2021, McPartlin married Anne-Marie Corbett, who was formerly his personal assistant, at St Michael's Church inHeckfield,Hampshire. They had been in a relationship since 2018.^[22] The couple live inWimbledon, London.^[23] On 14 May 2024, Corbett gave birth to a baby boy.^[24]

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 charityChildLine. They also support theText Santa appeal.

They opened the W4 Youth Centre in 2013.^[25]

In 2002, Ant & Dec signed a two-yeargolden handcuffs deal withITV, worth£2m.^[26]

In 2004, they signed their third golden handcuffs deal with ITV, running until the end of 2007.^[27]

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.^[28][29]

In 2009, they extended their golden handcuffs deal for two years.^[30] In 2011, they extended their golden handcuffs deal for two years.^[31]

In November 2016, the pair signed a new three-year deal with ITV, estimated to be worth £30 million over 3 years.^[32]

McPartlin was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the2016 Birthday Honours for his services to broadcasting and entertainment.^[33]

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 officialSaturday Night Takeaway app known asStudio 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. Retrieved30 September 2007.
• "The Media Guardian 100–85 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly".The Guardian. 17 July 2006. Retrieved30 September 2007.
• "The Media Guardian 100–35 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly".The Guardian. 7 July 2003. Retrieved30 September 2007.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAnthony McPartlin.

• Official Ant & Dec Website
• Ant McPartlin atIMDb

• 1975 births
• Ant & Dec
• Best Entertainment Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners
• Comedians from Newcastle upon Tyne
• English actors with disabilities
• English male child actors
• English male comedians
• English male television actors
• English people of Irish descent
• English television presenters
• Living people
• Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne
• Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne
• Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Television presenters with disabilities

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