Hailing from Newcastle upon Tyne, Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly met on the sets of BBC’s Byker Grove in 1990. The duo are reported to be worth an estimated £62 million each.
Musically inclined, they recorded their first single “Tonight I’m Free” while still with Byker Grove and “Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble” their top hit. Branding themselves Ant & Dec, their third album featured trademark single “Shout”, while the 2002 FIFA World Cup hit saw “We’re on the Ball” charting at third place.
Their first show, CITV’s Gimme 5 (1994) was followed by The Ant & Dec Show (1995-1997), which won Best Sketch Comedy and Best Children’s Show BAFTAs (1996). The Ant & Dec Show — Confidential (1997), released through video cassettes, featured the programme’s choicest bits.
Channel 4’s Ant & Dec Unzipped (1998) grabbed another BAFTA. That August, they signed on to ITV to host SMTV Live and CD:UK.
Their first primetime show was BBC’s Friends Like These (1999-2001) followed by ITV’s Pop Idol.
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Their Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV) show in 2002 became a tremendous hit. After 2009, the series was replaced by Ant & Dec’s Push the Button in 2010. Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway was revived in 2013 to greater success, with their song “Let’s Get Ready To Rhumble” skyrocketing to the top of the UK iTunes chart and becoming No. 1 on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart.
Hosting I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! from 2002, Ant & Dec attracted 15 million viewers for the third series in 2004.
Celebrating ITV’s golden jubilee, the duo hosted Ant & Dec’s Gameshow Marathon in 2005, commemorating the channels more famous shows over the last 50 years.
Signing a two-year deal with ITV for a reported £40 million in 2007, they hosted Britain’s Got Talent, which attracted 14.5 million viewers in 2008. They also hosted the offshoot Britain’s Got More Talent (2007).
Their production firm, Gallowgate Productions bought telecast rights to SMTV Live and Byker Grove in 2008 They also hosted Soccer Aid (2006 and 2008), PokerFace (2006), Wanna Bet? (2007), Cowell’s Red or Black? (2011-2012) and Text Santa (2011-2014).
Ant & Dec’s combined income from presenting Saturday Night Takeaway, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! and Britain’s Got Talent amounted to around £8.4 million.
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Their own companies Teecourt (owned by Ant), Deecourt (owned by Dec) and Hurley Promotions (jointly owned), which manages their finances, showed profits of £3.2 million, £3.2 million and £1.97 million respectively in 2014.
Recently, NBC bought the format for Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway for a reported sum of £15 million.
Golf enthusiast Ant and Ferrari California-owner Dec have homes in West London and are reported to possess a combined property worth £10 million.
