Declan Donnelly ‘admires’ Ant McPartlin for ‘taking responsibility’ after drink-driving charge

Declan Donnelly has said he is “proud” of Ant McPartlin for overcoming his struggles after being charged with drink driving.

Donnelly’s long-time presenting partner had consumed more than twice the legal alcohol limit when his car collided with two others in March 2018. He was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.

McPartlin stepped away from his presenting duties, with Holly Willoughby stepping in to host that year’s series of I’m a Celebrity with Donnelly, who was left “angry” by his co-host’s behaviour.

But Donnelly, who launched to fame in 1989 alongside McPartlin on TV series Byker Grove, has now commended his co-star’s decision to step away from the spotlight, during which time he went to rehab, in a new interview.

“What I most admire is that with the challenges he’s faced, especially over the last few years, Ant took responsibility and real action,” he told The Times.

“He worked on himself so much to get back not just to being himself but actually being a much better person than he was before.”

McPartlin reflected on his journey to sobriety, adding: “These last few years, it’s the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time. What changes as you get older, especially being sober as well, for me, is the purpose.”

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He highlighted their stint presenting I’m a Celebrity, stating: “When you’re live in Australia and you’re in the moment with your best friend, there’s nowhere else I want to be, but as soon as we finish, we go back to our apartments by the beach and we’re with our families. That’s where we want to be right then.”

McPartlin has been married to his former personal assistant, Anne-Marie Corbett, since 2021. They have a son, named Wilder, who was born in May 2024, and McPartlin is also stepfather to Corbett’s two teenage daughters from a previous relationship.

The TV presenter was previously married to Lisa Armstrong for 12 years before their separation in January 2018, two months before the drink-driving charge.

The year before, he entered rehab after a knee injury in 2015 led him to become addicted to prescription pain medication. Doctors told him he was “killing” himself by mixing the meds with alcohol.

After his 2018 drink-driving charge, McPartlin told The Sun what he said to Donnelly in the aftermath: “I just need to take time out and re-evaluate and get better and deal with things going on in my life.”

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He added: “I'm very lucky that I've got an understanding business partner and best friend who said, 'Absolutely, your head is more important than anything.’”

After embarking on a music career as PJ & Duncan, releasing the song “Let's Get Ready to Rhumble” in 1994, the pair became two of the UK’s most successful presenters, hosting I’m a Celebrity, Britain’s Got Talent, Limitless Win and Saturday Night Takeaway, which came to an end in 2024.

They won the National Television Award (NTA) for Best Presenter a record 23 times until 2025, when Gary Lineker won shortly after announcing he had quit Match of the Day after 26 years.

At the weekend, the pair issued an apology and pulled an advert for their new podcast, which some viewers claimed featured suicide imagery.

To promote their podcast, called Hanging Out with Ant and Dec, the Geordie duo posted a video to their social media depicting both men hanging from a washing line. However, within hours of the video going live, some observers argued that the imagery in the ad – particularly the initial shot of pairs of feet dangling in mid-air – was insensitive and suggestive of suicide.

“We did not mean to cause any offence with this promo video and we are sorry if it has upset anyone,” they said in a statement. “We have taken on board the comments and have deleted the video.”