Anything you can do, Ant...
As TV host weds today for second time with reception in a stately home, his ex teases with pictures of her own weekend away in grand venue – and shots of the bed!
WITH more than £60million in the bank and a turbulent three years behind him, it is no surprise Ant McPartlin has pulled out all the stops for his big day.
The TV favourite, 45, will tie the knot with his fiancee AnneMarie Corbett, 43, at a country retreat in Hampshire today.
The pair, who got engaged on Christmas Eve, are expected to say their ‘I dos’ in front of around 100 guests including Declan Donnelly, believed to be his best man, at a church at lunchtime.
Other expected guests include fellow ITV presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield as well their Saturday Night Takeaway co-star Stephen Mulhern and music mogul Simon Cowell.
But one name who won’t be in attendance is McPartlin’s ex-wife Lisa Armstrong, 44. The Strictly Come Dancing make-up artist has been enjoying her own getaway at the luxury Palé Hall Hotel in Snowdonia with her new boyfriend James Green.
Miss Armstrong, who split from McPartlin in 2018, boasted about her break on Instagram because the pair’s bed was once used by Queen Victoria. She posted: ‘Well if it was good enough for Queen Victoria it’s a yes from me!’
McPartlin married Miss Armstrong in 2006 at St Nicholas Church in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, in front of 150 guests followed by a reception at Cliveden House Hotel.
Meanwhile, McPartlin and Miss Corbett are said to have splashed out thousands for guests to stay at their luxurious venue where rooms start at £1,000 a night, with one secluded room costing £5,000 a night. A lorry load of flowers and greenery arrived yesterday at the church, with a team of staff at work, overseen by a public relations man. Giant pink roses featured heavily, with florists carrying archways to hold them. Security barriers had been erected around the church car park.
Earlier this week McPartlin took a break from wedding plans with Donnelly, 45, to play golf. McPartlin’s fiancee was seen appearing to squeeze in last-minute wedding night preparations by shopping at the Caroline Randell lingerie boutique in Wimbledon Village. She had also visited beauty salon Take Time London. Miss Corbett had worked as a personal assistant for McPartlin during his marriage to Miss Armstrong, who was devastated by the romance. The I’m a Celebrity co-presenter split from Miss Armstrong a few months after he was banned from the road for 20 months – later reduced to 15 – for drink-driving. They were locked in a divorce battle for nearly two years, before reaching a settlement last April.
■ An alleged ring of luxury car thieves, whose targets were said to have included Declan Donnelly, appeared at London’s Kingston Crown Court yesterday. Eight are accused of conspiracy to steal high-end vehicles – mainly Range Rovers worth a total of £750,000 – between January 16 and July 9. A trial date was set for January 4.