Ant’s agony is proof that fame doesn’t always make you happy

AnTHOnY McPartlin is the celebrity who seemed to have it all — so famous he is known by his first name alone. He’s the taller, dark-haired one of Ant and dec, who’s always on our TVs smiling and cracking jokes.

He’s blessed with one of the most enduring friendships in TV with his partner declan donnelly. He has a loving wife, Lisa, millions in the bank, an army of fans any star would kill for and a common-touch image that appeared to show he was refreshingly unaffected by fame.

Except he was hiding a dark secret. He had become addicted to painkillers after a botched knee operation. And though he’d always enjoyed his pub sessions with dec — also his neighbour — he’d started drinking alone long into the night.

Last week, he broke down sobbing, and confessed his addictions to Lisa and to dec. He is now in a prolonged period of rehab.

iTV hopes their much-loved star will be back in good health to present i’m A Celebrity in november. We all do. Yet his crisis is a salutary warning, in our celebrity obsessed age, to anyone who thinks fame and fortune are a sure path to happiness.

We live in an era when an appearance in Hello! magazine is considered by many the ultimate social achievement, when a fifth of children say that what they want to be when they grow up is a reality TV star, a celebrity, to be rich.

And Ant, the chirpy chappy who presents reality TV shows so brilliantly, is the personification of these dreams.

BUT the fact is that fame is not all it’s cracked up to be. Behind the glitz, the pressure of being a public figure expected to perform 24/7 can take a terrible toll. it can destroy people.

it must have taken Ant considerable courage to confront his demons, to come clean to his loved ones and admit to his mental health problems.

He had to accept that he’s no different to any ordinary mortal who struggles with a lack of self-worth, as most of us do at some point.

The message of Ant’s despair, i suspect, is that friends and family are far more important than fame. Luckily, he has them in abundance — and we can only wish him god’s speed in his recovery.