Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have revealed the “secret” to their long-lasting friendship and said: “It doesn’t come naturally.”
The famous duo began working together in 1990 on BBC’s drama Byker Grove where Dec played Duncan and Ant played PJ.
Under their character’s names the two Geordies began their pop career as PJ & Duncan and released their hit Let’s Get Ready to Rumble in 1994.
The duo have gone from strength to strength in their career and have presented their hugely successful late-night show Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway since 2022.
However, the iconic pairing revealed that they would be taking a break from the show to focus on their personal lives.
In the interview with Fault Magazine, Ant spoke about his wife Anne-Marie’s pregnancy for the first time publicly.
Ant told the outlet of their decision to “step back” from the show and said: “We’ve both got children that we need to spend time with for a little bit.”
“We need time to think and, and time to step back and look at the bigger picture and just see where we are now.”
Ant also confessed that the pair have “both changed” over their lifetime friendship and that they have had to “give each other space” at times.
The 48-year-old also admitted that maintaining their friendship over the years didn’t “come naturally.”
He said: ‘We started working together when we were 13, and we became friends very quickly. But, you know, we’re both, were are both 49 this year.
“We’re obviously not the same people that we were when we were 13. So throughout our career, you know, we’ve both changed. But being able to maintain that friendship doesn’t come naturally.”
“Sometimes you have to work with friendships, and sometimes you have to compromise and sometimes you have to give each other space and time and whatever.”
