Declan Donnelly

Donnelly is the child of parents Alphonsus Donnelly and Anne Donnelly, who originally resided in Desertmartin, Northern Ireland before moving to England in the 1950s, settling in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is among seven children the couple raised within the council estate of Cruddas Park.

Donnelly's education took place first at St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School, and later at the all-boys St Cuthbert's High School, with him receiving 8 GCSEs. Although he eventually moved towards a career in television, he originally considered becoming a Catholic priest but changed his mind upon seeing the students from the all-girls Sacred Heart Catholic High School. Donnelly's career in television began at the age of 12, when his father suggested that he audition for Byker Grove, a new children's television programme being created by CBBC in Newcastle upon Tyne that had been advertised in local newspapers. His success in this audition led to him securing the role of Duncan, whereupon he first met Anthony McPartlin. Although he was raised in an estate close to Donnelly, McPartlin had never met him until their involvement in the children's drama. The pair worked together on the show until their eventual departure in 1993, whereupon they began to bond as friends, both socially and professionally.

After a short tenure in music, Donnelly and McPartlin furthered their careers in television by becoming the presenting duo Ant & Dec. Having already fronted Children's TV show 'The Ant and Dec show' on BBC1, which ran for 2 series, followed by a stint on Channel 4 with the edgier 'Ant & Dec Unzipped', The pair continued to work in children's television, fronting ITV's Saturday morning children's programme SMTV Live. After leaving the programme in 2001, the pair branched out to front other shows, including game shows – Friends Like These, PokerFace and Push the Button – talent shows – Pop Idol, and Britain's Got Talent – and entertainment programmes – I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The pair continued to maintain acting careers, starring in a tribute to The Likely Lads in 2002, in the form of a remake of an episode from the show's sequel Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, entitled "No Hiding Place", and in 2006 film Alien Autopsy.

Ant & Dec have their own production company Mitre Television where they produce their shows.