Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly have found a musical link between the I’m A Celebrity theme and their PJ and Duncan days.
The duo heard the apparent similarity on Tuesday’s Hanging Out With Ant & Dec podcast after reading a listener’s letter. Their shock quickly became a running joke about lawsuits and suing each other.
Their PJ and Duncan pop past suddenly collided with the ITV programme they have presented since its 2002 launch.
Ant and Dec joke about suing themselves after I’m A Celebrity revelation
During the podcast, Dec read a listener’s claim about the 1993 track Tonight I’m Free (Cool Mix). The letter credited the listener’s daughter with spotting an overlap between the song and the I’m A Celebrity theme tune.
At first, both presenters seemed unconvinced. Before hearing the comparison, Ant teased: “We have to play this, because we might sue ourselves.”
Then the drum intro played, prompting Ant to exclaim: “Oh my God. It is.”
His immediate demand followed: “Do it again, do it again.”
Dec then declared: “Right, someone is getting sued. I am going to sue you,” jokingly pointing to Ant.
Ant answered with his own mock counter-suit, saying they could both win. The entire exchange was playful, rather than any announced legal action.
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I’m A Celebrity beat may have an earlier origin
However, social media comments offered another possible explanation for the matching rhythm.
One commenter said the original sample came from Africano by Earth, Wind & Fire, around one minute and 17 seconds. Another also called it a famous sample and pointed to Midnight Gloria by Keiino.
Those posts suggest the beat may pre-date Tonight I’m Free, rather than being created for the 1993 track. That remains a claim from commenters, not confirmation from the theme’s composer.
The I’m A Celebrity music was written by Grant Buckerfield in 2002. The podcast comparison alone does not confirm a direct sample from PJ and Duncan’s recording.
It does explain why the presenters found the resemblance so surprising.
PJ and Duncan music meets their jungle career
The timing makes the crossover especially neat. Tonight I’m Free appeared in 1993, nearly a decade before the jungle show’s music arrived.
Ant and Dec first became known as PJ and Duncan after joining Byker Grove in 1989. The acting roles led into a pop career before the pair became established television presenters.
Their releases included Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble, Eternal Love and Stuck On You. They later began hosting I’m A Celebrity when the series launched in 2002.
By 2026, they had fronted it for 24 years. This discovery offered a rare bridge between those two careers.
Their podcast reaction suggested the resemblance was news to them. For now, the precise route taken by the drum beat remains unclear.
Yet the moment neatly joined their early pop history with their long-running jungle job.
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