Ant & Dec
Encyclopedia
Anthony McPartlin
(born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly
(born 25 September 1975), known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English
comedy
and TV presenting duo
from Newcastle upon Tyne
, England
. The duo first rose to fame as actor
s on the children's television show Byker Grove
, during which and in their subsequent pop career they were respectively known as PJ & Duncan - the names of the characters they played on the show. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting shows such as SMTV Live
, Friends Like These
, Pop Idol
, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, PokerFace, Push the Button
and Britain's Got Talent
. They have also returned to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to The Likely Lads
and the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.
Ant is the taller of the two at 5'8" (1.73 m) and Dec is two inches shorter at 5'6" (1.68 m). It is a running joke that many people do not know who is Ant and who is Dec, even though their appearances differ significantly. To assist with identification, they follow the 180 degree rule
; all their TV appearances and publicity photos have Ant on the left and Dec on the right, but even this does not help everyone. Interestingly, research suggests that a majority of left-handers identify more strongly with Dec, and vice-versa.
, which was broadcast on the BBC, Dec was the first of the two to acquire his place on the BBC
children's drama
Byker Grove
. He joined in 1989, playing Duncan. A year later, Ant joined the cast playing PJ. Their friendship began when their storylines collided, creating a friendship off screen as well as on. Dec also played a stable boy in the adaptation of the novel The Cinder Path in his teenage years.
. Their first single was a song they performed while part of Byker Grove, entitled "Tonight I'm Free". The single had some success, and the duo went on to record two albums under their character names of PJ & Duncan. Later songs included "Why Me?", "If I Give You My Number", "Eternal Love" "Our Radio Rocks", "U Krazy Katz" and a cover of the The Monkees
classic "Stepping Stone
". Their most famous hit during this period was the BRIT Award
nominated "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble", for which the video was choreographed by Mark Short, who had previously worked with Tina Turner
and Peter Andre
. For their third album, the duo reinvented themselves under their real names of Ant & Dec. The album featured their signature single "Shout". Their final single release was "Falling", which was the track that subsequently ended their musical career. The track was pulled from the British charts under the instruction of their record label, Telstar Records, after claims of copyright infringement were made, brought about by a pop duo, 'And all because...', who were also managed by Ant and Dec's management team. The duo claimed that Ant & Dec had stolen the song from them and released it without their consent. Subsequently, Telstar Records decided not to renew their existing contract, and they were dropped from the label. During their time, the pair released sixteen singles
and three studio album
s, however, none of their releases managed to reach number one, with their highest UK chart position being #3. The duo did, however, reach the top ten in Germany
and Japan
, and even had a number-one single in Germany, with their cover of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream". Success also struck in other European countries. The duo had a short lived revival in the music industry, releasing a song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup
, entitled "We're On The Ball". The track peaked at #3, being beaten by Will Young
and Gareth Gates
.
. The show only lasted two series before being dropped from the airwaves. In 1995, the duo were once again offered a job on CBBC
, this time presenting their own series, entitled The Ant & Dec Show. The series was broadcast from 1995 to 1997, and in 1996, Ant & Dec won two BAFTA Awards
, one for 'Best Children's Show' and one for 'Best Sketch Comedy Show'. In 1997, a VHS release, entitled The Ant & Dec Show - Confidential, was made available in shops, and featured an hour of the best bits from three years of the programme, as well as specially recorded sketches and music videos. In 1998, the duo switched to Channel 4
, presenting a early-evening children's show entitled Ant & Dec Unzipped. This show also won a BAFTA, but was dropped from the airwaves after just one series. ITV
soon signed the duo in August 1998, and within weeks, were assigned to present ITV1
's Saturday morning programmes SMTV Live
and CD:UK
, alongside old friend Cat Deeley
. The duo presented the shows alongside Deeley for three years, before making their permanent departure from children's television in 2001. Two VHS releases, compiling the best bits from both shows, were released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The pair also starred in the children's TV series Engie Benjy
during their time on SMTV.
Saturday-night game show Friends Like These
, which was first broadcast in 1999. The duo presented four series of the programme between 1999 and 2001. In 2001, the duo's contract with ITV
was renewed for a further three years, following their appearances on SM:TV Live and CD:UK, and received their first primetime presenting job on the station, presenting brand new Saturday night reality series Pop Idol
. The series was broadcast for two series only, and was replaced in 2004 by The X Factor
, to which Kate Thornton
was assigned presenting duties. In August of the same year, the duo were also assigned to their own game show, entitled Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The show has so far ran for nine series, broadcast between 2002 and 2009. itv.com
confirmed that the show is set to return in 2012 after being off air for three years. During the fourth series, Dec broke his arm, thumb and suffered a concussion whilst completing a challenge for the 'Ant vs. Dec' segment of the show. The incident involved learning how to ride a motorbike and jumping through a ring of fire. During the challenge, Dec failed to pull hard enough on the throttle of the bike, causing it to topple over and sending him flying through the air. The accident caused the pair to miss the Comic Relief charity telethon of 2005. In 2006, the first episode of series five saw the duo absail down the side of the 22-storey high London Studios
, where the show was filmed. Two DVDs, a best-bits book and a board game of the series were released during 2004. In May 2002, the duo took the helm of a further reality series, entitled I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. The series has been broadcasting on ITV1
since 2002, and ten series have been broadcast. The duo drew their highest viewing figures to date while presenting the series in February 2004, with nearly 15 million tuning in to watch the climax of the third series. In May 2006, the duo were assigned to present coverage of the charity football match Soccer Aid
. The duo were then invited back to present coverage of the second match in September 2007, and have since presented coverage of each yearly match. In June 2006, the duo announced they had created a new game-show format for ITV1, entitled PokerFace. The show featured members of the public gambling high stakes of money in an attempt to win the ultimate prize. The first series began airing on 10 July 2006, and was aired for seven consecutive nights. The second series was broadcast in early 2007, and saw a move to a prime-time Saturday slot. Ratings for the series fell to below 3.5 million, and the series was subsequently axed in March 2007. A board game of the format was released in 2008. In April 2007, the duo signed a two-year golden handcuffs
deal with ITV, reportedly worth £
40 million, securing the duo's career at the station until the end of 2009. In June 2007, the duo were offered the job of presenters on new ITV reality platform Britain's Got Talent
by Simon Cowell
. The series features contestants aiming to win £100,000 and spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance
, while performing and being judged by Cowell, Amanda Holden
and Piers Morgan
. The series was highly successful, drawing in nearly 12 million viewers. A second series was broadcast in May 2008, and drew in nearly 14.5 million viewers. The duo have since returned to present three further series of the show, and have also had a regular feature on the ITV2
spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent. The pair filmed a series of six episodes for a new American game show, Wanna Bet?
, in November 2007. The episodes was broadcast in 2008, but failed to attract enough interest for a second series to be commissioned. What You Wrote, another format created by the duo, was due to air in Autumn 2008 but was reportedly axed by ITV
. In 2010, the duo debuted a replacement for their previous Saturday-night game show format, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, entitled Ant & Dec's Push the Button
. The series was a success, and a second run of the programme was broadcast in 2011. A third series has been commissioned for 2012.
to present a Pride Of Britain Award
. In December 2008, the duo starred in a seasonal advert, their first in seven years, for the supermarket chain Sainsbury's. The duo appeared alongside chef Jamie Oliver
. In March 2009, the duo filmed a short film for inclusion on Comic Relief
, which highlighted their story upon visiting a community centre for young carers in the North East. In September 2009, the duo released their official autobiography
, entitled "Ooh! What a Lovely Pair. Our Story". In October 2010, the duo appeared in several Nintendo
adverts playing both the Wii
and Nintendo DS
. In 2011, they both appeared on Celebrity Juice
on ITV2.
Law firm Olswang
were commissioned to investigate the 2005 British Comedy Awards when the producers overturned the voting public's first choice, The Catherine Tate Show
in favour of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway for the People's Choice Award. The incident is also the subject of an investigation by media regulator Ofcom
.
Following allegations of fraud in 2007, an investigation by auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
discovered that two shows, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, had defrauded viewers participating in phone-ins. The programmes were subject to a further investigation by Ofcom
which found that between January 2003 and October 2006 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway had:
and between September and October 2005, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon had:
One episode of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! was also found to be in breach of Ofcom rules.
The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye
.
On 10 September 2008, Ant & Dec announced that the frauds "will never happen again", insisting that a high-tech system and strict rules will ensure viewers cannot lose out with poorly monitored premium rate phone lines.
On 30 September 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec were being sued
for $
30 million by Greek American
stand-up comedian
and actor
ANT
for using "his" name in the United States
. The lawsuit, among other things, alleges trademark infringement and fraud.
In October 2009, Kelly Brook
claimed that Ant & Dec had been the cause of her removal as the fourth judge on Britain's Got Talent
. She claimed that she was asked to leave the show after she upset the pair.
(in which Bill Nighy
's character referred to Dec as "Ant or Dec"). They have returned to their Geordie
roots in a one-off tribute to The Likely Lads
and also by returning to Byker Grove for Geoff's funeral.
In 1998, the pair starred in the pantomime
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
at Sunderland's Empire Theatre alongside Donnelly's partner at the time Clare Buckfield
. The show was financially unsuccessful, making £20,000 less than it cost to stage, with the duo footing a large share of the shortfall.
Al Burton, creator of the American
gameshow Win Ben Stein's Money
, had approached Ant & Dec's talent agency with a proposal for a new reality television show entitled Ant & Dec Get Killed (after the film Penn & Teller Get Killed
), in which the two scheme to murder one another, framed with a lighthearted soundtrack and canned laughter. Burton received negative public reaction and narrowly escaped being charged with several accounts of premeditated murder
in British courts
, and Ant & Dec refused the offer from the talent agency.
Ant & Dec's most recent acting appearance was in the film Alien Autopsy released in April 2006. The film gained mixed reviews about the storyline but the pair received generally good reviews for their acting abilities.
fronting Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon
, a celebration of some of ITV's most enduring gameshows from the past 50 years.
In 2006, a celebration to the show Spitting Image
saw Ant and Dec having their own puppets made. They have also been made into cartoon characters on the comedy show 2DTV
, and face masks in Avid Merrions Bo Selecta. Wax works of the duo can also be seen in London's Madame Tussauds
.
In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 7 in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars
.
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Anthony McPartlin
Anthony David "Ant" McPartlin is one half of the English comedy and television presenting duo Ant & Dec, with the other being Declan Donnelly. He came to prominence in the children's drama series Byker Grove and as one half of the pop music duo PJ & Duncan...
(born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly
Declan Donnelly
Declan Joseph Oliver "Dec" Donnelly is one half of the English acting and TV presenting duo Ant & Dec, with the other being Anthony McPartlin. He came to prominence in the children's drama series Byker Grove and as one half of the pop music duo PJ & Duncan...
(born 25 September 1975), known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and TV presenting duo
Duo
-Arts:*Duet , a musical piece performed by two people*Duo, a musical ensemble composed of two musicians*Comedy duo, also known as a double act*Duo , 2008*Duo , 1991...
from Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The duo first rose to fame as actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s on the children's television show Byker Grove
Byker Grove
Byker Grove was a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround on CBBC on BBC One...
, during which and in their subsequent pop career they were respectively known as PJ & Duncan - the names of the characters they played on the show. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting shows such as SMTV Live
SMTV Live
SMTV Live , also written SM:TV Live and in early promotional material SMTV://live, was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, first broadcast on ITV on 29 August 1998 and last broadcast on 27 December 2003.On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format...
, Friends Like These
Friends Like These
Friends Like These was a British television programme broadcast on BBC One, and was presented by Ant & Dec and later by Ian Wright. The show was aired on BBC One from 6 November 1999 until 1 March 2003.-Format:...
, Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, PokerFace, Push the Button
Ant & Dec's Push the Button
Ant & Dec's Push the Button is a game show which first aired on the ITV Network. The show is hosted by Ant & Dec. During the show the contestants compete to win a jackpot of £100,000. The family who have banked the most cash go through to the final to face DAVE...
and Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
. They have also returned to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads was a black-and-white British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966...
and the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.
Ant is the taller of the two at 5'8" (1.73 m) and Dec is two inches shorter at 5'6" (1.68 m). It is a running joke that many people do not know who is Ant and who is Dec, even though their appearances differ significantly. To assist with identification, they follow the 180 degree rule
180 degree rule
In filmmaking, the 180° rule is a basic guideline that states that two characters in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line...
; all their TV appearances and publicity photos have Ant on the left and Dec on the right, but even this does not help everyone. Interestingly, research suggests that a majority of left-handers identify more strongly with Dec, and vice-versa.
Background
Anthony McPartlin was born on 18 November 1975 and Declan Donnelly was born on 25 September 1975. They met each other while working on the BBC children's drama Byker Grove in 1989. After a shaky start, they soon became best friends. They have achieved such popularity as a duo that they are hardly ever seen apart on screen. Indeed, it is reported that they are each insured against the other's death, although the amount is unknown. Their inseparability has led to them receiving joint nominations for many awards.Acting
Although Ant had built some television experience with a brief stint on the children's television series Why Don't You?Why Don't You?
Why Don't You? or Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out and Do Something Less Boring Instead? was a cult BBC children's television series broadcast in 42 series between 20 August 1973 and 21 April 1995. It went out on weekday mornings during the school holidays...
, which was broadcast on the BBC, Dec was the first of the two to acquire his place on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
children's drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Byker Grove
Byker Grove
Byker Grove was a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround on CBBC on BBC One...
. He joined in 1989, playing Duncan. A year later, Ant joined the cast playing PJ. Their friendship began when their storylines collided, creating a friendship off screen as well as on. Dec also played a stable boy in the adaptation of the novel The Cinder Path in his teenage years.
Music
After leaving television, the duo turned their hand to pop musicPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Their first single was a song they performed while part of Byker Grove, entitled "Tonight I'm Free". The single had some success, and the duo went on to record two albums under their character names of PJ & Duncan. Later songs included "Why Me?", "If I Give You My Number", "Eternal Love" "Our Radio Rocks", "U Krazy Katz" and a cover of the The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
classic "Stepping Stone
(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
" Steppin' Stone" is a rock song by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It was first recorded by Paul Revere & the Raiders and appeared on their 1966 album Midnight Ride....
". Their most famous hit during this period was the BRIT Award
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
nominated "Let's Get Ready To Rhumble", for which the video was choreographed by Mark Short, who had previously worked with Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
and Peter Andre
Peter André
Peter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
. For their third album, the duo reinvented themselves under their real names of Ant & Dec. The album featured their signature single "Shout". Their final single release was "Falling", which was the track that subsequently ended their musical career. The track was pulled from the British charts under the instruction of their record label, Telstar Records, after claims of copyright infringement were made, brought about by a pop duo, 'And all because...', who were also managed by Ant and Dec's management team. The duo claimed that Ant & Dec had stolen the song from them and released it without their consent. Subsequently, Telstar Records decided not to renew their existing contract, and they were dropped from the label. During their time, the pair released sixteen singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
and three studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s, however, none of their releases managed to reach number one, with their highest UK chart position being #3. The duo did, however, reach the top ten in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and even had a number-one single in Germany, with their cover of the Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream". Success also struck in other European countries. The duo had a short lived revival in the music industry, releasing a song for the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, entitled "We're On The Ball". The track peaked at #3, being beaten by Will Young
Will Young
William Robert "Will" Young is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominenceafter winning the 2002 inaugural series of the British music contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the now-worldwide Idols-format franchise...
and Gareth Gates
Gareth Gates
Gareth Paul Gates , is an English singer-songwriter. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol. Gates has sold over 3.5 million records in the UK alone. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly...
.
Children's television
Ant & Dec got their first presenting job in 1994, while they were still releasing music under the alias of PJ & Duncan. They co-presented a Saturday-morning children's show entitled Gimme 5, which was broadcast on CITVCITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
. The show only lasted two series before being dropped from the airwaves. In 1995, the duo were once again offered a job on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
, this time presenting their own series, entitled The Ant & Dec Show. The series was broadcast from 1995 to 1997, and in 1996, Ant & Dec won two BAFTA Awards
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
, one for 'Best Children's Show' and one for 'Best Sketch Comedy Show'. In 1997, a VHS release, entitled The Ant & Dec Show - Confidential, was made available in shops, and featured an hour of the best bits from three years of the programme, as well as specially recorded sketches and music videos. In 1998, the duo switched to Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, presenting a early-evening children's show entitled Ant & Dec Unzipped. This show also won a BAFTA, but was dropped from the airwaves after just one series. ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soon signed the duo in August 1998, and within weeks, were assigned to present ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's Saturday morning programmes SMTV Live
SMTV Live
SMTV Live , also written SM:TV Live and in early promotional material SMTV://live, was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, first broadcast on ITV on 29 August 1998 and last broadcast on 27 December 2003.On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format...
and CD:UK
CD:UK
CD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme was first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.In...
, alongside old friend Cat Deeley
Cat Deeley
Catherine Elizabeth "Cat" Deeley is an English television presenter and model. Since 2006, Deeley has also been the host of So You Think You Can Dance in the United States, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition...
. The duo presented the shows alongside Deeley for three years, before making their permanent departure from children's television in 2001. Two VHS releases, compiling the best bits from both shows, were released in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The pair also starred in the children's TV series Engie Benjy
Engie Benjy
Engie Benjy was a pre-school children's television show, broadcast on ITV's children's strand, CITV. Engie Benjy is a blue haired boy, a mechanic who helps fix problems with his friends' vehicles. His dog is Jollop. Other characters include Pilot Pete and Astronaut Al...
during their time on SMTV.
Primetime
The duo's first primetime presenting job came in the form of BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Saturday-night game show Friends Like These
Friends Like These
Friends Like These was a British television programme broadcast on BBC One, and was presented by Ant & Dec and later by Ian Wright. The show was aired on BBC One from 6 November 1999 until 1 March 2003.-Format:...
, which was first broadcast in 1999. The duo presented four series of the programme between 1999 and 2001. In 2001, the duo's contract with ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
was renewed for a further three years, following their appearances on SM:TV Live and CD:UK, and received their first primetime presenting job on the station, presenting brand new Saturday night reality series Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
. The series was broadcast for two series only, and was replaced in 2004 by The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
, to which Kate Thornton
Kate Thornton
Kate Thornton is an English journalist and television presenter. Early in her career, she was notable for her articles at the Daily Mirror and for her role as editor of Smash Hits magazine...
was assigned presenting duties. In August of the same year, the duo were also assigned to their own game show, entitled Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The show has so far ran for nine series, broadcast between 2002 and 2009. itv.com
Itv.com
itv.com is the main website of ITV plc, the UK's largest commercial television broadcaster which operates 11 out of 15 regions on the ITV network under the ITV1 brand. The website offers on-line streaming, ITV archive, news, sport, entertainment, games, soaps, lifestyle, drama and an interactive TV...
confirmed that the show is set to return in 2012 after being off air for three years. During the fourth series, Dec broke his arm, thumb and suffered a concussion whilst completing a challenge for the 'Ant vs. Dec' segment of the show. The incident involved learning how to ride a motorbike and jumping through a ring of fire. During the challenge, Dec failed to pull hard enough on the throttle of the bike, causing it to topple over and sending him flying through the air. The accident caused the pair to miss the Comic Relief charity telethon of 2005. In 2006, the first episode of series five saw the duo absail down the side of the 22-storey high London Studios
The London Studios
The London Studios is a television studio complex which is owned by London Weekend Television and has been home to the London Weekend ITV provider since 1972...
, where the show was filmed. Two DVDs, a best-bits book and a board game of the series were released during 2004. In May 2002, the duo took the helm of a further reality series, entitled I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. The series has been broadcasting on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
since 2002, and ten series have been broadcast. The duo drew their highest viewing figures to date while presenting the series in February 2004, with nearly 15 million tuning in to watch the climax of the third series. In May 2006, the duo were assigned to present coverage of the charity football match Soccer Aid
Soccer Aid
-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...
. The duo were then invited back to present coverage of the second match in September 2007, and have since presented coverage of each yearly match. In June 2006, the duo announced they had created a new game-show format for ITV1, entitled PokerFace. The show featured members of the public gambling high stakes of money in an attempt to win the ultimate prize. The first series began airing on 10 July 2006, and was aired for seven consecutive nights. The second series was broadcast in early 2007, and saw a move to a prime-time Saturday slot. Ratings for the series fell to below 3.5 million, and the series was subsequently axed in March 2007. A board game of the format was released in 2008. In April 2007, the duo signed a two-year golden handcuffs
Golden handcuffs
Golden handcuffs are a system of financial incentives designed to keep an employee from leaving the company. These can include employee stock options that will not vest for several years but are more often contractual obligations to give back lucrative bonuses or other compensation if the employee...
deal with ITV, reportedly worth £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
40 million, securing the duo's career at the station until the end of 2009. In June 2007, the duo were offered the job of presenters on new ITV reality platform Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
by Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
. The series features contestants aiming to win £100,000 and spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
, while performing and being judged by Cowell, Amanda Holden
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden is an English actress and presenter. Among her roles are Mia Bevan in Cutting It, Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart, and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award...
and Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
. The series was highly successful, drawing in nearly 12 million viewers. A second series was broadcast in May 2008, and drew in nearly 14.5 million viewers. The duo have since returned to present three further series of the show, and have also had a regular feature on the ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent. The pair filmed a series of six episodes for a new American game show, Wanna Bet?
Wanna Bet?
Wanna Bet? was a reality game show airing on ABC featuring four celebrities making wagers on whether ordinary Americans will be able to complete outrageous stunts....
, in November 2007. The episodes was broadcast in 2008, but failed to attract enough interest for a second series to be commissioned. What You Wrote, another format created by the duo, was due to air in Autumn 2008 but was reportedly axed by ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
. In 2010, the duo debuted a replacement for their previous Saturday-night game show format, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, entitled Ant & Dec's Push the Button
Ant & Dec's Push the Button
Ant & Dec's Push the Button is a game show which first aired on the ITV Network. The show is hosted by Ant & Dec. During the show the contestants compete to win a jackpot of £100,000. The family who have banked the most cash go through to the final to face DAVE...
. The series was a success, and a second run of the programme was broadcast in 2011. A third series has been commissioned for 2012.
Other activities
In April 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec's production company, Gallowgate Productions, had purchased the rights to Byker Grove and SMTV Live, after the production companies that made them, Zenith Entertainment and Blaze Television, had both gone bankrupt in 2007. According to reports, the duo decided to purchase the rights to stop digital channels showing repeats of the programmes. On 28 September 2008, it was reported that the pair were attacked by the Taliban whilst in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to present a Pride Of Britain Award
Pride of Britain Awards
The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual event in the United Kingdom, honouring ordinary people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challenging situations....
. In December 2008, the duo starred in a seasonal advert, their first in seven years, for the supermarket chain Sainsbury's. The duo appeared alongside chef Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
. In March 2009, the duo filmed a short film for inclusion on Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
, which highlighted their story upon visiting a community centre for young carers in the North East. In September 2009, the duo released their official autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, entitled "Ooh! What a Lovely Pair. Our Story". In October 2010, the duo appeared in several Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
adverts playing both the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. In 2011, they both appeared on Celebrity Juice
Celebrity Juice
Celebrity Juice is a British television comedy panel game show on ITV2 that has been airing since 24 September, 2008. The show is presented by Keith Lemon, with regular captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton, alongside regular panellist Rufus Hound...
on ITV2.
Controversies
In 1997, Welsh pop duo 'And all because...' successfully obtained legal aid and filed legal papers against Ant & Dec, along with their management team, record company and producers for copyright infringement over the song "Falling", and this was subsequently Ant & Dec's last single.Law firm Olswang
Olswang
Olswang is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with additional offices in the Thames Valley, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Paris and most recently Munich. It also works closely with a network of firms across eighty countries. The Lawyer ranked the firm 32nd largest in...
were commissioned to investigate the 2005 British Comedy Awards when the producers overturned the voting public's first choice, The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show
The Catherine Tate Show is a British television sketch comedy written by Catherine Tate and Aschlin Ditta. Tate also stars in all but one of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of characters. The Catherine Tate Show airs on BBC Two and is shown worldwide through the BBC...
in favour of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway for the People's Choice Award. The incident is also the subject of an investigation by media regulator Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
.
Following allegations of fraud in 2007, an investigation by auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited , commonly referred to as Deloitte, is one of the Big Four accountancy firms along with PricewaterhouseCoopers , Ernst & Young, and KPMG....
discovered that two shows, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, had defrauded viewers participating in phone-ins. The programmes were subject to a further investigation by Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
which found that between January 2003 and October 2006 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway had:
- selected competition finalists before the telephone lines were announced as closed
- staggered the selection of competition finalists which meant that viewers entering the competition did not have a fair and equal chance of winning
- selected finalists on the basis of their suitability to be on television and where they lived
- selected an individual already known to the production team to be placed on the shortlist of potential winners and who went on to win the competition
and between September and October 2005, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon had:
- on six occasions in the Prize Mountain competition, selected winners based on their suitability to be on screen
- failed to account for almost half of the competition entries
One episode of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! was also found to be in breach of Ofcom rules.
The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
.
On 10 September 2008, Ant & Dec announced that the frauds "will never happen again", insisting that a high-tech system and strict rules will ensure viewers cannot lose out with poorly monitored premium rate phone lines.
On 30 September 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec were being sued
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
30 million by Greek American
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
stand-up comedian
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
ANT
Ant (comedian)
ANT is an American stand-up comedian and actor. ANT prefers his name spelled in all capital letters.ANT performed at comedy clubs across the USA beginning in 1991...
for using "his" name in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The lawsuit, among other things, alleges trademark infringement and fraud.
In October 2009, Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...
claimed that Ant & Dec had been the cause of her removal as the fourth judge on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
. She claimed that she was asked to leave the show after she upset the pair.
Acting
They have, albeit infrequently, returned to acting. They played themselves in the film Love ActuallyLove Actually
Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress...
(in which Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
's character referred to Dec as "Ant or Dec"). They have returned to their Geordie
Geordie
Geordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
roots in a one-off tribute to The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads
The Likely Lads was a black-and-white British sitcom created and written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, and produced by Dick Clement. Twenty episodes were broadcast by the BBC, in three series, between 16 December 1964 and 23 July 1966...
and also by returning to Byker Grove for Geoff's funeral.
In 1998, the pair starred in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
at Sunderland's Empire Theatre alongside Donnelly's partner at the time Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield
Clare Buckfield is an English actress, best known for playing the role of Jenny Porter in the BBC sitcom 2point4 children for most of the nineties and Natasha Stevens in the CBBC series Grange Hill.-Biography:...
. The show was financially unsuccessful, making £20,000 less than it cost to stage, with the duo footing a large share of the shortfall.
Al Burton, creator of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gameshow Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money
Win Ben Stein's Money is an American television game show that ran from July 28, 1997 to January 31, 2003 on the Comedy Central cable network with episodes airing until May 8, 2003. It featured three contestants who competed in a general knowledge quiz contest to win the grand prize of $5,000 from...
, had approached Ant & Dec's talent agency with a proposal for a new reality television show entitled Ant & Dec Get Killed (after the film Penn & Teller Get Killed
Penn & Teller Get Killed
Penn & Teller Get Killed is a 1989 dark comedy film directed by Arthur Penn starring magicians Penn & Teller. The duo play themselves, and the plot involves them in a satirical account of what the audience would perhaps imagine the pair doing in their daily lives...
), in which the two scheme to murder one another, framed with a lighthearted soundtrack and canned laughter. Burton received negative public reaction and narrowly escaped being charged with several accounts of premeditated murder
Premeditated murder
Premeditated murder is the crime of wrongfully causing the death of another human being after rationally considering the timing or method of doing so, in order to either increase the likelihood of success, or to evade detection or apprehension.State laws in the United States vary as to definitions...
in British courts
Judiciary of the United Kingdom
The Judiciary of the United Kingdom is not a single body. Each of the separate legal systems in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own judiciary....
, and Ant & Dec refused the offer from the talent agency.
Ant & Dec's most recent acting appearance was in the film Alien Autopsy released in April 2006. The film gained mixed reviews about the storyline but the pair received generally good reviews for their acting abilities.
Awards
In 2005, as part of the ITV Network's 50th birthday celebrations, they were back on televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
fronting Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon
Gameshow Marathon (UK game show)
Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcast from 17 September 2005 to 26 May 2007 on ITV .After a quick retrospective look at the history of the particular show, the show itself is recreated. This involved recreating the original set and using original opening programme titles, including...
, a celebration of some of ITV's most enduring gameshows from the past 50 years.
In 2006, a celebration to the show Spitting Image
Spitting Image
Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show that aired on the ITV network from 1984 to 1996. It was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Television. The series was nominated for 10 BAFTA Awards, winning one for editing in 1989....
saw Ant and Dec having their own puppets made. They have also been made into cartoon characters on the comedy show 2DTV
2DTV
2DTV is a British satirical animated television show that was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, directed by Tim Searle.2DTV employs the same satirical style as Spitting Image, but using animation rather than puppets. The animation was produced on computer, frequently with animators working up...
, and face masks in Avid Merrions Bo Selecta. Wax works of the duo can also be seen in London's Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
.
In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 7 in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars
TV's 50 Greatest Stars
TV's 50 Greatest Stars was a British awards show, broadcast as part of ITV's 50th birthday celebrations on 9 September 2006. The two 2 hour show was presented by Bradley Walsh.-Results:As voted for by ITV viewers.1. David Jason2. Morecambe and Wise...
.
1994
- Brit Award Nomination - Best Song: "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble"
2001
- Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (SMTV LiveSMTV LiveSMTV Live , also written SM:TV Live and in early promotional material SMTV://live, was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, first broadcast on ITV on 29 August 1998 and last broadcast on 27 December 2003.On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format...
)
2002
- Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (Pop IdolPop IdolPop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
) - National Television Awards: Special Recognition Award
2003
- Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
- Most Popular Entertainment program (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
- Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)
2004
- Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
- Most Popular Entertainment programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
2005
- Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
2006
- Most Popular Quiz Programme (Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon)
- Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
- British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Personality
- British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Programme
2007
- Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
- Most Popular Entertainment program (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)
- Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)
2008
- TV QuickTV QuickTV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...
& TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (Saturday Night Takeaway) - Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008The Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards 2008 aired on 20 September 2008 on Nickelodeon. It was the UK's second Kids' Choice Awards. The ceremony was presented by Australian singer and former X Factor judge Dannii Minogue....
: Favourite Funny Person, Best TV presenters and Best Family TV show (Britain's Got TalentBritain's Got TalentBritain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
) - National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter
2009
- TV QuickTV QuickTV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...
& TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) - TV QuickTV QuickTV Choice, is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group...
& TV Choice Awards:Outstanding Contribution Award
2010
- National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter - National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) - British Academy Television AwardsBritish Academy Television AwardsThe British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
: Entertainment Performance (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)
2011
- National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter - National Television AwardsNational Television AwardsThe National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!)
List of television appearances
- Why Don't You?Why Don't You?Why Don't You? or Why Don't You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out and Do Something Less Boring Instead? was a cult BBC children's television series broadcast in 42 series between 20 August 1973 and 21 April 1995. It went out on weekday mornings during the school holidays...
(1980s) - Byker GroveByker GroveByker Grove was a British television series which aired between 1989 and 2006 and was created by Adele Rose. The show was broadcast at 5.10pm after Newsround on CBBC on BBC One...
(1989) - Engie BenjyEngie BenjyEngie Benjy was a pre-school children's television show, broadcast on ITV's children's strand, CITV. Engie Benjy is a blue haired boy, a mechanic who helps fix problems with his friends' vehicles. His dog is Jollop. Other characters include Pilot Pete and Astronaut Al...
(2002)
As presenters
- The Ant & Dec Show (1995–1997)
- Ant & Dec Unzipped (1998)
- SMTV LiveSMTV LiveSMTV Live , also written SM:TV Live and in early promotional material SMTV://live, was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, first broadcast on ITV on 29 August 1998 and last broadcast on 27 December 2003.On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format...
(1998–2001) - CD:UKCD:UKCD:UK was a British music television programme. Originally run in conjunction with SMTV Live, the programme was first aired on ITV on 29 August 1998 to rival the BBC's Live & Kicking and was the replacement for The Chart Show, which had been airing on the network for nine and a half years.In...
(1998–2001) - Friends Like TheseFriends Like TheseFriends Like These was a British television programme broadcast on BBC One, and was presented by Ant & Dec and later by Ian Wright. The show was aired on BBC One from 6 November 1999 until 1 March 2003.-Format:...
(1999–2001) - Slap Bang with Ant & DecSlap Bang with Ant & DecSlap Bang with Ant & Dec, was a television programme that was shown in the UK on ITV in 2001. It was presented by Ant & Dec. The show ran for 6 episodes . Each episode featured, among other things, a brief sketch of a show called Beers, a parody of Cheers, centred around a pub...
(2001) - Pop IdolPop IdolPop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
(2001–2003) - Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2002–2009, 2012)
- I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2002–present)
- Ant & Dec's Gameshow MarathonGameshow Marathon (UK game show)Gameshow Marathon is a British game show, broadcast from 17 September 2005 to 26 May 2007 on ITV .After a quick retrospective look at the history of the particular show, the show itself is recreated. This involved recreating the original set and using original opening programme titles, including...
(2005) - Soccer AidSoccer Aid-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...
(2006, 2008) - PokerFace (2006–2007)
- Britain's Got TalentBritain's Got TalentBritain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
(2007–present) - Ant & Dec's Push the ButtonAnt & Dec's Push the ButtonAnt & Dec's Push the Button is a game show which first aired on the ITV Network. The show is hosted by Ant & Dec. During the show the contestants compete to win a jackpot of £100,000. The family who have banked the most cash go through to the final to face DAVE...
(2010–2011) - Red or Black?Red or Black?Red or Black? is a British television game show that is broadcast on ITV. In each round the contestants chose red or black, with those that chose the incorrect colour being eliminated. During the first series, four finalists guessed the colour correctly in the final round and became millionaires...
(2011–present) - Britain's Got More Talent (2012-present)
Television advertisements
- WoolworthsWoolworths GroupWoolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
(Christmas 2001) - Sainsbury's (Christmas 2008)
- WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
/ Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
(2010/2011)
Television idents
- ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
"Celebrities" idents (3 idents, 2002) - ITV1 "Abstract celebrities" idents (5 idents, 2003)