GeordieMancunian
13-11-2007, 01:58 PM
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/03_01/decPA0703_468x345.jpg
Ant and Dec are back on our screens this winter. But just what is the secret behind their showbiz partnership, and are they really the best of friends on and off screen?
With their twinkly eyes and simple Geordie charm, Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are the entertainment duo with the world at their feet. Best mates on and off screen for almost 20 years, it's their lasting friendship that has kept this unshakeable partnership together.
A few years ago, a newspaper survey revealed that people often get the pair mixed up. So, to help audiences tell them apart, Ant always appears on the left of the screen and Dec on the right. It's a simple, yet successful arrangement, just like their partnership. But are they really joined at the hip - would they ever go it alone?
"We've always said that if something comes along that one of us doesn't want to do, then it's fine for the other to do it," admits Dec.
But, despite receiving offers, neither of them has been tempted.
So, how did TV's most bankable comedy duo meet? As children, Ant and Dec lived just two miles apart in Newcastle. From an early age, Ant dreamed about seeing his name up in lights and didn't care who knew it, despite being teased by his classmates. "I never really bothered about peer pressure at that age, " he says. "I was quite stubborn."
Dec, meanwhile, was harbouring different ambitions, "I was the smallest boy at school, but I wanted to be a footballer", he explains. Dreams of the Premier League became a distant memory after he enjoyed a couple of stints in Panto. When he heard a children's programme, Byker Grove, was being made in Newcastle, he phoned the BBC and asked for an audition.
His nerve landed him the part of Duncan in 1989. But it wasn't until Ant joined the show in 1990 that things started to look up for the pair - with their on-screen chemistry becoming the main focus of the show. "We both started as small characters with small storylines," Ant says. "Then, within a couple of series, we were getting all the main stories."
And this was life for them for the next three years, until suddenly in 1993, aged 18, Ant's character PJ was blinded in a paint ball incident.
"As quickly as that, were written out," recalls Ant. "And there was nothing else on the horizon."
They may have been axed from one of TV's most successful children's programmes but - fortunately for Ant and Dec - the public hadn't had enough of loveable PJ and Duncan. The next move was obvious.
Following the footsteps of soap actors like Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, they signed a record deal. But unlike their Australian counterparts, they never took it very seriously, seeing it as an extension of their acting careers. "We knew it wasn't going to last forever," says Ant. "We did it all with a wink," adds Dec.
Their time as pop stars was short-lived and the duo returned to TV, this time to present The Ant and Dec Show on BBC, in 1995. But it was Saturday morning show, SM:TV Live that put them on the map. Although aimed at children, the programme soon gained a following with the adults too, and presented the Geordie boys as everyone's best mates.
The hit TV shows kept coming: their extraordinarily popular programmes have earned them 10 National TV awards, including most popular entertainment presenters for six years in a row.
So what's their secret? "There's snobbery about a lot of people enjoying the same thing and there shouldn't be," says Ant. "Our shows bring the family together after tea, when Dad's home from the match and Mum's done the shopping."
They'll certainly be working hard over the coming months with the new series of I'm a celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain's Got Talent on the horizon. You'd imagine they'd be keen to keep out of each other's pockets when they're not filming. Not so.
When they're not in each other's houses, they spend hours playing games over the Internet. "I can still play against Ant but he doesn't have to come round my house anymore," jokes Dec.
"I can still play against Dec but I don't have to see his ugly mug anymore," retorts Ant.
With friends like that, who needs anyone else?
Want to be part of the audience for Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway? Simply visit www.itv.com/tickets (http://www.itv.com/tickets).
Ant and Dec are back on our screens this winter. But just what is the secret behind their showbiz partnership, and are they really the best of friends on and off screen?
With their twinkly eyes and simple Geordie charm, Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly are the entertainment duo with the world at their feet. Best mates on and off screen for almost 20 years, it's their lasting friendship that has kept this unshakeable partnership together.
A few years ago, a newspaper survey revealed that people often get the pair mixed up. So, to help audiences tell them apart, Ant always appears on the left of the screen and Dec on the right. It's a simple, yet successful arrangement, just like their partnership. But are they really joined at the hip - would they ever go it alone?
"We've always said that if something comes along that one of us doesn't want to do, then it's fine for the other to do it," admits Dec.
But, despite receiving offers, neither of them has been tempted.
So, how did TV's most bankable comedy duo meet? As children, Ant and Dec lived just two miles apart in Newcastle. From an early age, Ant dreamed about seeing his name up in lights and didn't care who knew it, despite being teased by his classmates. "I never really bothered about peer pressure at that age, " he says. "I was quite stubborn."
Dec, meanwhile, was harbouring different ambitions, "I was the smallest boy at school, but I wanted to be a footballer", he explains. Dreams of the Premier League became a distant memory after he enjoyed a couple of stints in Panto. When he heard a children's programme, Byker Grove, was being made in Newcastle, he phoned the BBC and asked for an audition.
His nerve landed him the part of Duncan in 1989. But it wasn't until Ant joined the show in 1990 that things started to look up for the pair - with their on-screen chemistry becoming the main focus of the show. "We both started as small characters with small storylines," Ant says. "Then, within a couple of series, we were getting all the main stories."
And this was life for them for the next three years, until suddenly in 1993, aged 18, Ant's character PJ was blinded in a paint ball incident.
"As quickly as that, were written out," recalls Ant. "And there was nothing else on the horizon."
They may have been axed from one of TV's most successful children's programmes but - fortunately for Ant and Dec - the public hadn't had enough of loveable PJ and Duncan. The next move was obvious.
Following the footsteps of soap actors like Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, they signed a record deal. But unlike their Australian counterparts, they never took it very seriously, seeing it as an extension of their acting careers. "We knew it wasn't going to last forever," says Ant. "We did it all with a wink," adds Dec.
Their time as pop stars was short-lived and the duo returned to TV, this time to present The Ant and Dec Show on BBC, in 1995. But it was Saturday morning show, SM:TV Live that put them on the map. Although aimed at children, the programme soon gained a following with the adults too, and presented the Geordie boys as everyone's best mates.
The hit TV shows kept coming: their extraordinarily popular programmes have earned them 10 National TV awards, including most popular entertainment presenters for six years in a row.
So what's their secret? "There's snobbery about a lot of people enjoying the same thing and there shouldn't be," says Ant. "Our shows bring the family together after tea, when Dad's home from the match and Mum's done the shopping."
They'll certainly be working hard over the coming months with the new series of I'm a celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here!, Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain's Got Talent on the horizon. You'd imagine they'd be keen to keep out of each other's pockets when they're not filming. Not so.
When they're not in each other's houses, they spend hours playing games over the Internet. "I can still play against Ant but he doesn't have to come round my house anymore," jokes Dec.
"I can still play against Dec but I don't have to see his ugly mug anymore," retorts Ant.
With friends like that, who needs anyone else?
Want to be part of the audience for Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway? Simply visit www.itv.com/tickets (http://www.itv.com/tickets).