Laughing all the way to the bank! Ant and Dec sign new deal with ITV… and it’s thought to be worth more than £30million
Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have signed a three-year ‘golden handcuffs’ deal with ITV thought to be worth upwards of £30million.
It means the presenting duo, who are expected to earn more than £15million each for the contract, will celebrate 25 years with the broadcaster.
ITV was thought to have been keen to finalise the contract for the pair after interest from streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Ant and Dec’s last contract – for Saturday Night Takeaway, Limitless Win, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here and Britain’s Got Talent – expired at the beginning of the year.
Hurray! Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly will be celebrating 25 years with ITV by extending their current exclusive relationship for a further three years
In extending the contract, they will also present the new I’m a Celebrity South Africa, which will air later this year and feature an ‘all-star line-up’ of the best-loved past contestants.
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s head of programming, said: ‘The world of television and streaming is always a much brighter place with Ant and Dec at the centre of it and we look forward to continuing our successful working relationship with them across the next three years.’
McPartlin said: ‘We’re so lucky to host the best entertainment shows in the world. We absolutely love our shows and we are both extremely happy and very excited to extend our relationship with ITV for another three years.’
Busy bees: The new contract comes at the start of a busy year for the award winning duo, who throughout 2023 will host brand new series of five shows
Winners: Throughout their tenure at ITV, the pair have won 43 National Television Awards and 18 BAFTA Television Awards
Back on form: In extending the contract, they will also present the new I’m a Celebrity South Africa. Ant McPartlin, left, and Declan Donnelly
Donnelly joked: ‘We can’t believe we are reaching 25 years exclusively with ITV. Especially as we are both only turning 30 this year…!’
The new deal means the Geordie pair, both 47, will celebrate their milestone 50th birthdays with the broadcaster.
They are thought to have an estimated net worth of more than £62million each as of last year and are two of the best-paid presenters on British TV.
Revelations: It comes after Dec made a hilarious naked revelation as he and Ant appeared on Scott Mills’ Radio 2 and BBC Sounds show, earlier this month
The pair, who have racked up more than 30 years in showbiz, were back on fine form last year after a turbulent few years.
They were forced to host I’m a Celebrity in Wales rather than Australia during the pandemic, while McPartlin took a break from the show altogether in 2018 after a drink-drive crash.
He was replaced by Holly Willoughby just months after he was banned from driving for 20 months and fined £86,000 after crashing his Mini into two other cars in Richmond, south-west London.
Jill Scott is crowned Queen of the Jungle with a flower crown on her head, sat with Ant and Dec
He checked into rehab after admitting he was battling an addiction to alcohol and prescription medication after previous knee surgery.
McPartlin split from wife Lisa Armstrong at the beginning of 2018 and faced an acrimonious divorce that wasn’t finalised until 2020. They had been together for 23 years, and married for more than ten. In 2021 he married his former personal assistant Anne-Marie Corbett.
Donnelly enjoys a quiet personal life with his Australian-born wife Ali Astall. The pair started dating in 2014 and have two children together.
McPartlin and Donnelly have won 43 National Television Awards and 18 TV Baftas.
Auditions for the new series of Britain’s Got Talent start today in London.
Partners: Anne-Marie Corbett, Ant McPartlin (left), Declan Donnelly and Ali Astall (right) at the 26th National Television Awards
Naked and afraid! ‘I woke up to the door clicking behind me. I was naked and afraid then too,’ he laughed
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