Popular U.K. hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly – better known by their joint stage name Ant and Dec – have signed on to stay at broadcaster ITV for another three years.
The BAFTA-winning duo have spent 25 years at the network, where they are among its most prolific performers, fronting shows including “Britain’s Got Talent,” “Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway” and “I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!”
As well as continuing with those shows in 2023, they will also host “Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win” and “I’m A Celebrity South Africa.”
The duo, who started off as actors, first met as teenagers on the set of children’s drama series “Byker Grove.” They went on to have a short-lived music career in the early 1990s under their “Byker Grove” monikers P.J. and Duncan before hosting Saturday morning pop show “CDUK” alongside Cat Deeley on ITV, which ran until 2001.
“The world of television and streaming is always a much brighter place with Ant & Dec at the centre of it, and we look forward to continuing our successful working relationship with them across the next three years,” said Kevin Lygo, managing director for media and entertainment at ITV.
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 3 years.”
Donnelly added: “We can’t believe we are reaching 25 years exclusively with ITV. Especially as we are both only turning 30 this year…!”