Anthony David "Ant" McPartlin also known as P.J. is an English television
presenter and actor, perhaps best known as one half of the English comedy and
television presenting duo Ant & Dec, with the other being Declan Donnelly. He
initially came to prominence in the early-to-mid-1990s in the children's
drama series Byker Grove and as one half of the pop music duo PJ & Duncan.
Since the late 1990s, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV
presenters, fronting programmes such as SMTV Live, Friends Like These, Pop Idol,
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway,
Britain's Got Talent, PokerFace, Push the Button, Red or Black? and Text
Santa. They have also returned to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to
The Likely Lads and the 2006 film Alien Autopsy.
Career Ant's first appearance on television was
on the children's workshop programme Why Don't You? but he rose to prominence
playing PJ in the Children's BBC series Byker Grove. It was here that he first
met Declan Donnelly, who was cast in the part of Duncan, and real life mirrored
the programme as the two became best friends both on set and off. In the
guise of "PJ & Duncan AKA", they had a number of hit records, starting with
"Tonight I'm Free", a song that they had performed on the show. The two left the
series in 1993. Since that time the pair have appeared
together in such programmes 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 have also returned
to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to The Likely Lads and the 2006 film Alien
Autopsy. In 2007 it was discovered that two
shows, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway,
which he co-presented with Donnelly, had defrauded viewers participating in
phone-ins. The latter was produced by the pair's own production company.
In April 2009, Ant & Dec achieved wide international exposure when, as
backstage commentators for Britain's Got Talent, they interviewed contestant
Susan Boyle, whose audition would become the most viewed YouTube video of the
year and whose record album topped sales charts in dozens of countries.
Personal life On 22 July 2006 he married longtime
girlfriend and make-up artist Lisa Armstrong at Cliveden, a hotel in
Buckinghamshire. They met when they were both performing at a pop concert at
Newcastle City Hall in 1994. McPartlin was there as part of PJ & Duncan AKA,
whilst Armstrong was in the pop band Deuce.
McPartlin was formerly a Labour Party supporter. However at the 2010 election
he voted for the Conservatives. In February 2013, he told The Guardian
newspaper that he would struggle to justify voting for the Conservatives or
the Labour Party "at the moment". On 18 November 2015 McPartlin celebrated his
40th Birthday. = Charity=
McPartlin and Donnelly are patrons of the charity Sunshine Fund. When their
single 'Let's Get Ready to Rhumble' reached No.1, Ant & Dec donated the
single's success to the charity ChildLine. They also support the Text
Santa appeal. They opened the W4 Youth Centre in 2013.
Earnings In 2007, McPartlin with his on-screen
presenting partner Donnelly, signed a £30 million two-and-a-half year contract
with ITV. Awards
Ant and Dec have won or been nominated for the following awards:
In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 7 in a poll
of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. 1994
Brit Award Nomination – Best Song: "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble"
1995 Brit Award Nomination – British
Breakthrough 2006
British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Personality
British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Programme
2008 TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best
Entertainment Show Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008:
Favourite Funny Person, Best TV presenters and Best Family TV show
2009 TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best
Entertainment Show TV Quick & TV Choice Awards:Outstanding
Contribution Award 2010
British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Performance
2012 Freesat: Best TV Presenter(s)
2013 TRIC Awards: TV Personality of the Year
TRIC Awards: TRIC Special Award RTS Awards: Entertainment Performance
Nominated – British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Performance
2014 British Academy Television Awards:
Entertainment Performance British Academy Television Awards:
Entertainment Programme = National Television Awards=
Ant & Dec have won the National Television Award for Most Popular
Entertainment Presenter(s) 14 years running 2001 to 2015.
NTAs by number won Filmography
= Television= = Film=
= Television advertisements= = Apps=
An official Saturday Night Takeaway app known as Studio Rush launched on 30
January 2013. References
Notes "The Media Guardian 100–65 Anthony
McPartlin and Declan Donnelly". The Guardian. 9 July 2007. Archived from the
original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
"The Media Guardian 100–85 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly". The
Guardian. 17 July 2006. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
"The Media Guardian 100–35 Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly". The
Guardian. 7 July 2003. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
External links Official Ant & Dec Website
Ant McPartlin at the Internet Movie Database