Dec Donnelly is left in tears in an emotional preview for Hanging Out With Ant and Dec, as the presenter reads a letter to his younger self.
Daily Mail reported on the clip ahead of the full episode. It drops at 6pm on Thursday Belta Box’s YouTube channel.
The episode follows Dec as he revisits diary entries he wrote in 1994. He wrote them when he and Ant started a new chapter after touring as PJ and Duncan.
Dec reads his final diary entry first. It describes the pair moving into a new house together after weeks on the road.
He then reads a letter from his future self, which he wrote recently. He opens with: “Dear Declan, it’s from me/you from the future. From 2026, sounds exciting right?”
He adds some humour too. He jokes: “Well, I’m sad to report. We’re not yet travelling around in hover cars, or nor do we have robot servants or space colonies.”
Why Dec Donnelly’s tears hit harder than a simple throwback
The letter soon turns reflective. Dec says reading the old diary brought back memories he had forgotten.
He says that period felt “exciting and exhilarating yet daunting and bewildering, thrilling and intoxicating, yet intense and exhausting”.
He also reflects on how much life was about to change. He says he and Ant had not just gone on an adventure for a few weeks.
Instead, he says they had effectively left home. He tells his younger self their lives would never return to what they had been.
Dec also shares advice. He urges himself to grab every opportunity, treasure real friendships and stop worrying so much about perfection.
One line stands out. Dec says his friendship with Ant will “endure through thick and thin” and be even stronger in 2026.
What sparks Dec’s tears in the letter’s hardest moment?
The emotional peak comes when Dec speaks about family. He admits this is the “hard bit” to read.
He says: “Get home as much as you can. Your family have given you the best star in life.”
He continues: “They’re not all going to be there forever, though. So, appreciate them all while you have them.”
An emotional Dec turns directly to Ant. He says: “Say hi to 1994 Ant for me. Tell him to remember he’s a great kid, and it will all be OK.
“Even when it feels like it won’t.”
He finishes with: “Look out for each other, enjoy the ride and hey, respect guys. Love from future Dec.”
That message carries extra weight because Ant has spoken openly about his past. Daily Mail noted that he previously shared struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.
- In 2017, Ant McPartlin said he had developed an addiction to prescription drugs after a knee operation and entered rehab.
- In 2018, he pleaded guilty to drink-driving following a crash in London.
- He later stepped back from television work while focusing on recovery.
- In subsequent interviews, he has spoken about being sober and described recent years as a happier period.
He went sober after his 2018 drink-driving conviction. Before that, he entered rehab in 2017 after saying he had become addicted to prescription drugs following a knee operation.
Ant has since described a happier chapter. In comments cited by the Daily Mail, he said: “Turning 50 for me was great because my early forties was a really tough time. These last few years, it’s the happiest I’ve been in a long, long time.”
- Ant and Dec first found fame as PJ and Duncan after appearing in Byker Grove.
- They released music in the 1990s under the PJ and Duncan name before later recording as Ant & Dec.
- The pair combined television work with pop success during the decade.
- Their partnership continued from teen acting and music into a long-running presenting career.
Dec also praised his friend in remarks to The Times. He said: “What I most admire is that with the challenges he’s faced, especially over the last few years, Ant took responsibility and real action.”