TV presenters Ant and Dec have been left in shock as the duo have found out that they are related.
Childhood friends, Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly took part in a two-part series, which aired on ITV on Sunday and Monday night.
Ant & Dec’s DNA Journey followed the I’m A Celebrity presenters as they took a look into their DNA and ancestry.
Ant, 43 and Dec, 44, both from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, expressed shock as they discovered they both carried a unique DNA marker (called S660) which can only be shared by relatives.
“There’s really only one way to share a DNA marker like S660, and that’s because you’re related,” explained a DNA expert on the show.
“Recently a Viking age warrior skeleton has been dug up in Dublin. He was in his late 20s and died about a thousand years ago, a bit more.”
“What’s totally amazing to me is that when his DNA was analysed it was shown that he carried the S660 marker.”
“This is the same marker that Ant carries, and the same marker that Dec carries,” he said confirming that the TV presenters are related through their Irish Viking ancestor.
“This Viking warrior is directly related to them, in the father line.”
Ant and Dec met in 1990 when they were actors on CBBC TV show Byker Grove.
They have since enjoyed success as an entertainment duo, presenting numerous TV shows including Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Britan’s Got Talent and SMTV Live.
