Ant and Dec, both 47, have become one of the most famous and lucrative duos on British television, consistently winning prestigious industry awards for their presenting skills on I’m A Celebrity and Saturday Night Takeaway every year.
However, the former Byker Grove actors almost lost it all when Ant McPartlin was embroiled in a two-year addiction to strong painkilling drugs, before being convicted of drink-driving in 2019.
The duo, who will be seen attending King Charles III’s Coronation today as ambassadors of The Prince’s Trust, very nearly fell apart, as Dec considered parting ways with Ant over his conviction, which he branded “indefensible” at the time.
Prior to their crisis talks, Ant had been rushed to hospital at 5am after an “insane” pills binge, the Geordie presenter recalled to The Sun on Sunday back in 2017.
Ant emotionally told the publication: “I was at the point where anything — prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs — I would take.
“And take them with alcohol, which is ridiculous. The doctors told me, ‘You could have killed yourself’. ”
Ant, who is now clean, then went to rehab for two months after the incident, in which he had been bingeing on tramadol, morphine and alcohol, after suffering from intense pain during his recovery from a second knee operation that year.
Following his stint in rehab, Ant was charged with drink-driving after travelling back from walking his dog with his mum Christine in March 2018.
The incident saw Ant veering into the wrong lane on Lower Richmond Road, south-west London, before hitting a Mini with a family inside, and then crashing into a BMW.
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He was twice over the limit at the time of the crash.
Ant spoke outside Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in April 2018 after being banned from driving for 20 months and fined £86,000, telling crowds: “I just want to say I’m truly sorry. Higher standards are expected of me.
“I expect them of myself. I let myself down. I let a lot of people down, and for that I am truly sorry. I’d like to apologise to everybody involved in the crash and I am just thankful that nobody was seriously hurt in this.”
He also concluded that the fine he received was justified, as “I needed to be punished”.
Ant went on to take a break from his TV hosting duties, with Holly Willoughby replacing him on I’m A Celebrity alongside Dec, as he went to rehab again.
In the aftermath of the incident, Ant and Dec “reassessed their career and relationship”.
“For the first time in many years, all we talked about were deep things like how we felt, and what the future held, and where we were, and all the chaos that has come along, especially for me,” Ant told The Guardian in 2019.
Dec also told the publication that he would have been lying if he hadn’t considered ending his TV partnership with Ant over the drink-driving conviction.
He explained he was angry with his friend and co-star at the time, while also feeling upset for Ant.
After discussing the situation deeply, the presenters made the decision to save their partnership, going on to return to fronting Britain’s Got Talent as a duo in March 2019.
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