Ant McPartlin
Ant McPartlin is one half of British TV’s most successful presenting double act – Ant and Dec – with best pal Declan Donnelly.
His first taste of TV fame came playing the character of PJ in the early 1990s CBBC series Byker Grove.
He met Dec, who played Duncan, for the first time during their time on the Newcastle children’s drama series.
Following their departure from the show in 1993, the pair burst into the charts with a number of hit songs – including ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble’ before turning to presenting.
They proved a winning act as presenters of Saturday morning hit SMTV Live but are now best known for hosting primetime entertainment shows like I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Britain’s Got Talent.
Ant was married his long-term girlfriend Lisa Armstrong for 11 years before they split in January 2018.
In 2015, he underwent an operation to treat his damaged knee but subsequently became addicted to prescription drugs he was given to cope with the pain.
He later checked into rehab to get help for problems with alcohol and his medication dependency in June 2017, staying for two months.
However, on March 18, 2018, he was involved in a car crash in London and was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. He turned out to be twice the legal limit.
Pleading guilty to drink-driving, Ant McPartlin was fined £86,000 and banned from driving for 20 months.
“I let myself down, I let a lot of people down,” he apologised afterwards.
“I am truly sorry. I would like to apologise to everybody involved in the crash.
“I’m just thankful nobody was seriously hurt.”
Ant is now taking a break from the spotlight and has stepped down from his TV commitments.