Dec: I nearly split with Ant over his indefensible drink-driving
Star was furious after co-host’s smash
DECLAN Donnelly has revealed he considered cutting ties with his television sidekick Ant McPartlin following his drink-drive arrest.
McPartlin, 43, left two families fearing for their lives after he crashed his Mini into two cars while over twice the legal limit last March.
Now Donnelly, also 43, has spoken out about the crash – describing his Britain’s Got Talent co-host’s actions as ‘indefensible’.
He claimed he was angry and upset, even contemplating splitting from his presenting partner and best friend of almost 30 years.
But after soul- searching, Donnelly – who had to present the Britain’s Got Talent live shows and I’m A Celebrity without the other half of his double act – claims he decided that he wanted McPartlin and their relationship to recover.
Following the smash, the pair reflected on their friendship and realised they had stopped communicating properly and had been taking each other for granted, they told the Guardian’s Weekend magazine.
McPartlin said: ‘For the first time in many years, all we talked about were deep things like how we felt, and what the future held, and where we were, and all the chaos that has come along, especially for me.’
McPartlin will return to our screens for the first time since the smash when the new series of Britain’s Got Talent airs on ITV next Saturday.
He was fined a record £86,000 for the smash in Richmond, southwest London, which left a nineyear-old boy crying out: ‘I’m dying mummy, I’m dying.’
In a witness statement, the driver of one car said he and his wife ‘could have died as a result of McPartlin’s reckless driving’.
The star, who had been driving his mother, said he was ‘ashamed and mortified’ in a statement read out at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court as he was fined and banned from driving for 20 months.
He added: ‘I’m addressing what I now recognise as problems with alcohol and emotional issues.
‘As a consequence I have sought immediate specialist help and support to ensure that nothing of this nature happens again.’
He shelved all work commitments for a year to return to rehab for alcohol addiction.
It fell to Holly Willoughby to copresent last year’s series of I’m A Celebrity, alongside Donnelly, while McPartlin continued to focus on his rehabilitation.
The two presenters have been a double-act since meeting on the set of the teen drama Byker Grove in the 1990s, even sharing social media accounts. They are mainstays of ITV – signing a £30million ‘golden handcuffs’ deal with the channel in 2016 – and draw huge viewing figures.
Eight million people regularly tuned in for last year’s series of Saturday Night Takeaway. Ant and Dec have been nominated for awards in the Entertainment Performance and Entertainment Programme categories at the Baftas, despite McPartlin spending most of last year off-screen.
The ceremony in May will mark the host’s first awards show appearance since his drink- driving conviction.
The smash came months after McPartlin announced that he was splitting from his wife of 11 years Lisa Armstrong.
The pair were granted a divorce in October in a hearing lasting less than 30 seconds. Miss Armstrong sought the divorce on the grounds of adultery. They have no children but share custody of their chocolate labrador Hurley.
McPartlin is now dating his former personal assistant AnneMarie Corbett, 42 – who Miss Armstrong has accused of ‘breaking the girl code’ since they had once been friends.
McPartlin first sought help for substance abuse in June 2017 after he became addicted to prescription painkillers following an operation on his knee.
After his second stint in rehab, he had the Alcoholic Anonymous symbol tattooed on his wrist.
Spent most of last year off-screen