Declan Donnelly
Encyclopedia
Declan Joseph Oliver "Dec" Donnelly (born 25 September 1975) 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
. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting programmes such as SMTV Live
, Friends Like These
, Pop Idol
, Britain's Got Talent
, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
, PokerFace and Push the Button
. They returned to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to The Likely Lads
and the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.
emigrants, Anne and the now deceased Alphonsus Donnelly (died 2011). He has three brothers: Martin, Eamonn and Dermott (a Catholic priest), and three sisters: Patricia, Moyra and Camalia. His parents hailed from Draperstown
, County Londonderry
, Northern Ireland
, migrated to Newcastle, where they bought a house in 1958.
Donnelly attended St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School and St Cuthbert's High School, which he left with 8 GCSEs.
was Dec's first well-known TV appearance. At the age of 12, he saw an advert in a local newspaper stating that a new children's TV show would be filmed in Newcastle and was looking for young actors. It was his father who suggested that he audition. At first Dec said he didn't want to, but he later phoned the producer and asked for an audition. He was successful and it was on the Byker Grove set that he first met Ant.
Ant & Dec soon became the famous duo known today, who host Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
, an entertainment show in which they compete against each other and the audience can win prizes. They also host ITV1
's reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
in which celebrities are placed in the jungle
and have to compete to win the show. They also host another ITV1 show Britain's Got Talent
, a talent search to find an act to perform at the Royal Variety Show
in front of the Royal Family
and most recently Ant & Dec's Push the Button
, with the same idea as Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
. In April 2009, Ant & Dec achieved wide international exposure after interviewing Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle
, whose audition would become the most-viewed YouTube
video of 2009. They also starred in the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.
. They are estimated to be worth around £62m each.
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...
acting
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
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...
Ant & Dec
Ant & Dec
Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly , known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England...
, with the other being Anthony McPartlin
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...
. He came to prominence in the children's drama series 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...
and as one half of the pop music
Pop 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...
duo PJ & Duncan
PJ & Duncan discography
This is a discography of official releases by the pop duo PJ & Duncan, who were later rebranded as Ant & Dec.-Studio albums:*1994 Psyche *1995 Top Katz...
. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting programmes 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...
, 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...
, I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Saturday Night Takeaway
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, is a variety show created by LWT and shown in the UK on Saturday evenings on ITV, presented and executively produced by Ant & Dec. It is broadcast live from The London Studios on the South Bank...
, PokerFace and 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...
. They 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.
Early life
Donnelly is the youngest of seven children born to IrishIrish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
emigrants, Anne and the now deceased Alphonsus Donnelly (died 2011). He has three brothers: Martin, Eamonn and Dermott (a Catholic priest), and three sisters: Patricia, Moyra and Camalia. His parents hailed from Draperstown
Draperstown
Draperstown is a village in the Sperrin Mountains of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,638 people in the 2001 Census.-Name:...
, County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, migrated to Newcastle, where they bought a house in 1958.
Donnelly attended St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School and St Cuthbert's High School, which he left with 8 GCSEs.
Career
The part of Duncan on Byker GroveByker 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...
was Dec's first well-known TV appearance. At the age of 12, he saw an advert in a local newspaper stating that a new children's TV show would be filmed in Newcastle and was looking for young actors. It was his father who suggested that he audition. At first Dec said he didn't want to, but he later phoned the producer and asked for an audition. He was successful and it was on the Byker Grove set that he first met Ant.
Ant & Dec soon became the famous duo known today, who host Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Saturday Night Takeaway
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, is a variety show created by LWT and shown in the UK on Saturday evenings on ITV, presented and executively produced by Ant & Dec. It is broadcast live from The London Studios on the South Bank...
, an entertainment show in which they compete against each other and the audience can win prizes. They also host 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 reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (UK)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is a British reality television show, first screened in 2002, in which celebrities live in jungle conditions with few creature comforts. The show is filmed in Australia and broadcast on ITV in the UK and on TV3 in Ireland. The show is one of the largest in the...
in which celebrities are placed in the jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
and have to compete to win the show. They also host another ITV1 show 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...
, a talent search to find an act to perform at the Royal Variety Show
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...
in front of the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and most recently 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...
, with the same idea as Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
Saturday Night Takeaway
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, is a variety show created by LWT and shown in the UK on Saturday evenings on ITV, presented and executively produced by Ant & Dec. It is broadcast live from The London Studios on the South Bank...
. In April 2009, Ant & Dec achieved wide international exposure after interviewing Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from ...
, whose audition would become the most-viewed YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video of 2009. They also starred in the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.
Earnings
In 2007, Ant and Dec signed a 2½ year, £30 million contract with ITVITV
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...
. They are estimated to be worth around £62m each.
Awards
The duo has won a considerable number of awards over the years for their television work, as well as awards for Best New Act during their singing career, including:- The Special Recognition Award at the 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...
for their contribution to television (at the young age of 27). - Best Entertainment Presenter at the 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...
for the past ten years. - Best Entertainment Programme for Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 10 series in a row at the NTA's.
- Best Reality TV Programme for I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and 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...
at the NTA's. - The TVTimes Awards for Presenters and Entertainment Programme..