Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly (born 25 September 1975) is a British television presenter, television producer, former singer, rapper, comedian and actor. He is best known for working alongside

Ant McPartlin Anthony David McPartlin (born 8 January 1975) is a British television presenter, former singer, rapper and actor. He is best known for working alongside Declan Donnelly as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec. McPartlin came to prominence, al ...

as part of the presenting duo

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...

. Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, Donnelly came to prominence, alongside McPartlin, in the children's drama series ''

Byker Grove ''Byker Grove'' is a British teen drama and coming of age television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 on BBC One. The show was set in Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne and was filmed in nearby Benwell. It was created by writer Adele Rose a ...

'', with both men establishing successful careers as television presenters, in which they are most known for presenting ''

SMTV Live ''SMTV Live'' (an abbreviation of ''Saturday Morning Television Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, produced by Blaze Television for ITV. Operating on a similar format to ...

'' (between 1998 and 2001), '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' alongside

(2002–2017, 2019–) and

Holly Willoughby Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981) is an English television presenter, author and model. She has presented various television shows for ITV, most notably '' This Morning'' (2009–2023) and '' Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 201 ...

(2018) and ''

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'', ''Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), ...

'' (2002–2024), and ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' (since 2007). Other notable highlights of Donnelly's career alongside McPartlin include presenting '' PokerFace'', '' Push the Button'', ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'', and ''

Red or Black? ''Red or Black?'' is a British television game show which was broadcast on ITV between 3 September 2011 and 29 September 2012. In each round, contestants choose red or black, with those that choose the incorrect colour being eliminated. During ...

'', being hosts of charity appeal ''

Text Santa ''Text Santa'' was a charity initiative set up in 2011 by ITV to support UK-based charities during the Christmas period. The appeal to the public is to donate money mainly via text donation and profits from merchandise. The telethons have been h ...

'' (between 2011 and 2014), and also performing as

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

duo

PJ & Duncan Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo consisting of Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly from Newcastle upon Tyne. After meeting as child actors on CBBC's drama ''Byker Grove'', they performed together as pop musicians PJ & Duncan, ...

Early life

Donnelly is the child of parents Alphonsus Donnelly and Anne Donnelly, who originally resided in

Desertmartin Desertmartin (;Toner, Gregory: ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', page 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996, )Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence: ''Irish Place Names'', page 202. Gill & Macmillan Ltd., 2002. is a small village in County Londond ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

before moving to England in the 1950s, settling in

. He is among seven children the couple raised within the

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

of Cruddas Park. Donnelly's education took place first at St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, and later at the all-boys

St Cuthbert's High School St Cuthbert's Catholic High School (formerly St Cuthbert's Catholic Grammar School) is a boys-only Roman Catholic secondary school with academy status located on Gretna Road in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Admissions St Cuthbert's is a seven- ...

, with him receiving 8 GCSEs.THE IoS PROFILE: Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly; Likely lad
Archived from ''The Independent'' (London) Although he eventually moved towards a career in television, he originally considered becoming a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

but changed his mind upon seeing the students from the all-girls Sacred Heart Catholic High School.

Career

Donnelly's career in television began at the age of 12, when his father suggested that he audition for ''

'', a new children's television programme being created by

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

that had been advertised in local newspapers. His success in this audition led to him securing the role of Duncan, whereupon he first met

Anthony McPartlin Anthony David McPartlin (born 8 January 1975) is a British television presenter, former singer, rapper and actor. He is best known for working alongside Declan Donnelly as part of the presenting duo Ant & Dec. McPartlin came to prominence, a ...

. Although he was raised in an estate close to Donnelly, McPartlin had never met him until their involvement in the children's drama. The pair worked together on the show until their eventual departure in 1993, whereupon they began to bond as friends, both socially and professionally. Ant_and_Dec_in_Cardiff_Bay

After a short tenure in music, Donnelly and McPartlin furthered their careers in television by becoming the presenting duo

. Having already fronted Children's TV show 'The Ant and Dec show' on BBC1, which ran for 2 series, followed by a stint on Channel 4 with the edgier 'Ant & Dec Unzipped', The pair continued to work in children's television, fronting ITV's Saturday morning children's programme ''

''. After leaving the programme in 2001, the pair branched out to front other shows, including game shows – ''

Friends Like These ''Friends Like These'' is a British game show that was broadcast on BBC One first as a pilot on 6 November 1999 and then as a full series from 12 February 2000 until 20 September 2003. It was presented by Ant & Dec from 1999 to 2001 and later ...

'', '' PokerFace'' and '' Push the Button'' – talent shows – ''

'', and ''

'' – and entertainment programmes – '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'', and ''

''. The pair continued to maintain acting careers, starring in a tribute to ''

The Likely Lads ''The Likely Lads'' is a British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966. However, only te ...

'' in 2002, in the form of a remake of an episode from the show's sequel ''

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' is a British sitcom which was broadcast on BBC1 between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit ''The Likely Lads''. It was created and written, as was its predec ...

'', entitled "No Hiding Place", and in 2006 film '' Alien Autopsy''. Ant & Dec have their own production company Mitre Television where they produce their shows.

Personal life

On 22 July 2006, Donnelly was the best man for McPartlin's wedding to Lisa Armstrong. Donnelly reprised his role as McPartlin's best man when he married his second wife, Anne-Marie Corbett on 7 August 2021. In an 'emotional' speech on the special day, he described McPartlin as the "best friend a man could have" before reading a prayer in front of the guests attending. In August 2011, Donnelly attended his father's funeral, after Alphonsus died in hospital of cancer. Donnelly dated actress Clare Buckfield for ten years between 1993 and 2003, and television presenter

Georgie Thompson Georgina Jane Ainslie, Lady Ainslie (born 25 November 1977), better known as Georgie Thompson, is a British television presenter. Education Thompson was educated at Queenswood School, an independent boarding school for girls near Hatfield in ...

from January 2009 until April 2011. On 13 November 2014, Donnelly became engaged to the duo's manager, Ali Astall, with whom he had been in a relationship for over a year, with the marriage taking place at St Michael's Roman Catholic Church,

Elswick, Tyne and Wear Elswick ( ) is a district and electoral ward of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, 1.9 miles west of the city centre, bordering the River Tyne. Historically in Northumberland, Els ...

, on 1 August 2015. The ceremony was conducted by his brother, Father Dermott Donnelly, a Catholic priest, with McPartlin as his best man. On 1 September 2018, after announcing earlier in the year that the couple were expecting their first child, Donnelly's wife gave birth to their daughter, Isla. On 19 March 2018, after his colleague McPartlin's car crash, it was announced that Donnelly would be presenting the remaining episodes of ''

'' and the live semi-finals of ''

'' on his own. In November 2019, it was revealed that Dec is a distant cousin of the American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

promoter and businesswoman

Dixie Carter Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom ''Designing Women'' (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series ''Family Law (American TV series), Family La ...

. He is also related to footballer Aaron Donnelly. His elder brother Dermott died after a short illness on 8 July 2022 at age 55. Donnelly has stated that he is a practising

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

but does not publicly discuss religion or his family in depth. On 23 July 2022, Donnelly and Astall welcomed their second child, a boy, Jack. In a 'sweet' gesture, the couple gave their son middle names 'Anthony' and 'Alphonsus' in honour of Donnelly's best friend McPartlin and late father respectively.

Charity

Donnelly and McPartlin are patrons of the charity Sunshine Fund. When their single 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble' reached No.1 in 2012, Ant & Dec donated the single's success to the charity ChildLine. They also support the

appeal. Donnelly also supports the

Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church, centred on St Mary's Cathedral, in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, in England. The diocese is one of the six suffragan sees in the ecclesiastical provi ...

's Youth Ministry Team, directed by one of his older brothers, Dermott Donnelly, former dean of St Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle. They opened the W4 Youth Centre in 2013.

Earnings

In 2002, Ant & Dec signed a two-year

golden handcuffs Golden handcuffs, a phrase first recorded in 1976, refers to financial allurements and benefits that have the objective to encourage highly compensated employees to remain within a company or organization instead of moving from company to company ...

deal with ITV, worth £2m. In 2004 they signed their third golden handcuffs deal with ITV, running until the end of 2007. 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. In 2009 they extended their golden handcuffs deal for two years. In 2011 they extended their golden handcuffs deal for two years. In November 2016 the pair signed a new three-year deal with ITV, estimated to be worth £30 million over 3 years.

Honours and awards

Donnelly was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2016 Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to broadcasting and entertainment. The following listed below are the television awards that Donnelly has been nominated for or awarded with, primarily while working alongside Anthony McPartlin as Ant & Dec: 1994 *Brit Award Nomination – Best Song: "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" 1995 *Brit Award Nomination – British Breakthrough *Royal Television Society Awards- ''The Ant and Dec Show'' 1996 *

British Academy Children's Awards The British Academy Children's Awards were presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). They were awarded annually since 1996, before which time they were a part of the main British Academy ...

: Children's Entertainment Show (''The Ant and Dec Show'') 1997 *Nominated –

: Children's Entertainment Show (''The Ant and Dec Show'') 1998 *

: Children's Entertainment Show (''Ant and Dec Unzipped'') 2000 *

: Children's Entertainment Show (''

'') *

TV Choice Awards ''TV Choice'' is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group. A double issue is released to cover the Christmas & New Year period at a higher price. ...

: Best Children's Show (''

'') *

Royal Television Society Awards The Royal Television Society Programme Awards, (often referred to as the RTS Awards) seek to recognise programmes or individuals who have made a positive and material contribution to their genre: either because their content or originality in for ...

: Best Children's Entertainment Programme (''

'') *TV Hits Awards: Best Teen Show ('' CD:UK'') *Loaded Carling Good Work Fellas Awards: Best Double Act *British Comedy Awards: The People's Choice (''

'') 2001 *

: Best Children's Show (''

'') *Broadcast Awards: Best Children's Programme (''

'') *

: Best Television Presenters *Disney Channel Awards: Kids Awards (''The Ant and Dec Show'') *Nominated –

: Best Children's Entertainment Show (''

'') 2002 *Nominated –

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

: Entertainment Performance (''

'') *

: Children's Entertainment Show (''

'') 2005 *Nominated –

: Entertainment Performance ('' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'') 2006 *British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Personality *British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment ProgrammeTelevision – News – British Comedy Awards 2006: The Winners
''Digital Spy'' (13 December 2006). Retrieved 5 May 2012. 2007 *Nominated –

: Entertainment Performance (''

'') 2008 *

TV Quick ''TV Quick'' was a British weekly television listing magazine published by H Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group. It featured weekly television listings running from Saturday to Friday, and began pu ...

& TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (''Saturday Night Takeaway'') *

Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008 The Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards 2008 aired on 20 September 2008 on Nickelodeon UK, Nickelodeon. It was the UK's second Kids' Choice Awards. The ceremony was presented by Australian singer and ''The X Factor, X Factor'' judge Dannii Minogue ...

: Favourite Funny Person, Best TV presenters and Best Family TV show (''Britain's Got Talent'') 2009 *TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (''

'') *TV Quick & TV Choice Awards:Outstanding Contribution Award *Nominated –

: Entertainment Performance ('' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'') 2010 *

: Entertainment Performance ('' I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'') *

: Entertainment Programme (''

'') 2012 *

Freesat Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Everyone TV (itself owned by all of the four UK Public broadcasting, public service broadcasters, BBC, ...

: Best TV Presenter(s) 2013 *

TRIC Awards The Television and Radio Industries Club (widely known as TRIC) is a British institution chartered in 1931 to "promote goodwill in the television and radio industries". The Club holds an annual awards ceremony each year honouring achievement in t ...

: TV Personality of the Year *TRIC Awards: TRIC Special Award (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'') *

RTS Awards The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

: Entertainment Performance (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'') *Nominated –

: Entertainment Performance (''I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'') 2014 *

: Entertainment Performance (''

'') *

: Entertainment Programme (''

'') 2015 *

: Entertainment Performance (''

'') *

: Entertainment Programme (''

'') 2017 *British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *British Academy Television Awards: Live Event (The Queen's 90th Birthday Celebration) 2018 *British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Programme (''

'') 2019 *''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'': Most NTA's for Best Presenter won consecutively at 18 *British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Programme (''

'') *British Academy Television Awards: Reality And Constructed Factual Programme (''I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!'')

National Television Awards

Filmography

Television

Film

Television advertisements

Apps

*An official ''

Saturday Night Takeaway ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'', ''Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), w ...

'' app known as ''Studio Rush'' launched on 30 January 2013 but has been removed. *An official ''

I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' is a reality television format in which a number of celebrities live together in a jungle environment for a number of weeks, competing to be crowned "King-" or "Queen of the Jungle". The show was or ...

'' app launched on 9 November 2015.

References

External links

*
Declan Donnelly
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Cult of Ant&Dec HQOfficial Ant and Dec website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Declan 1975 births English people of Irish descent Ant & Dec Best Entertainment Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners British male television actors British male child actors English people of Northern Ireland descent English Roman Catholics British television presenters Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at St. Cuthbert's School Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Comedians from Newcastle upon Tyne English male comedians