- And they said, it's called,
"I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!"
And we're like-
- Like, (raspberry).
- Yeah, whatever.
- Rubbish title.
The title'll change. The title'll change.
- [Ant] It'll change...
- Rubbish title.
- ...because quite frankly, I'm not saying that every night.
Cut to 20 years later.
- On the bridge.
- (both men) Get me out of here! (laughter)
(mellow music)
- So, Ant and Dec, great to be here,
to chat about your upcoming book,
"Once Upon a Tyne,"
which means, basically, we get to chat
about your whole career, which is pretty incredible.
- Actually, yeah!
- How long have we got?
We've got 30 years to cover here.
- Okay. So we've basically got, like, uh,
we'll do a minute a year. We'll take you through that.
- [Dec] That's a good way of breaking it down.
(laughter)
- [Ant] Good.
- And obviously, we sat at a nice intimate distance
from each other, as we all come out of lockdown.
- So strange, isn't it?
- Really weird.
So what's it been like for the two of you,
not seeing each other in person for that long?
- We've worked kind of throughout lockdown, really.
We've been doing, kind of,
things remotely or for our socials.
So we kind of see each other quite a lot
on on either a screen-
- There's been a lot of Zooming.
- ...or on a phone.
So we've been in contact throughout the whole thing,
but it's nice to kind of get back in a room together.
Hi!
- Hi, over there!
It's the first time we've ever done an audio book.
So that was really interesting.
- [Ant] We're very good at it. I have to say.
(laughter)
Just just really good.
Now, it was really good fun.
We were a bit, like, how do you do this?
And then, 'cause we're quite open,
quite energetic as people.
It was weird going in there
and just reading the book,
and then we couldn't help ourselves.
So if you get a copy of it,
then you realize that at first
it's kind of, like, us just narrating the book.
Then we have a laugh with it.
So it's like the book but with more fun.
- Do you get a lot of ad-libs in there?
- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah, there are a few ad-libs.
- Yeah, there's a few outtakes at the end.
- There's-
- There's quite a few outtakes.
But yeah, we did it, you know,
with a big Perspex screen in between us,
and we sat, you know, the recommended distances away.
So we had to do all that.
But it was the first time we were physically
in a room together for weeks and weeks,
since we finished Saturday Night Takeaway in March.
So that was nice to be back together and working again.
- It was weird. When we were reading the book,
even writing the book,
we were kind of throwing stories back and forth.
But when you had the finished book,
and then you were reading it for the audio version,
the nostalgia for me really kicked in.
We were talking about this the other day,
weren't we?
We were talking about Saturday mornings and SMTV
and working with Cat Deeley and how much fun we had.
And we, it kind of transported you
back to those days of kind of being in your twenties,
you know, doing the show on a Saturday morning,
meeting all the kind of pop stars and celebs
of the day, and then, you know, being kind of carefree.
And it was a really lovely time of our career.
There was no real pressure on us,
and we're kind of finding our feet and learning our craft.
And I drove home that night after doing the audio book.
And I was a bit, like, I was a bit overwhelmed,
because it was just such a lovely memory.
- What were your initial reactions to the concept
of "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here"?
What did you think when you were pitched that?
- We got pitched the show, and we liked the idea of it.
You know, 10 celebrities going to live
in the Australian Outback
and having to kind of fend for themselves
and do, like, Bushtucker Trials,
'cause the idea for that was there.
And they said it's called,
"I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!"
and we're like.
- Like, (raspberry).
- Yeah, whatever. That's a stupid name.
- Rubbish title.
- Honestly, we were like, it's too long,
it's a bit rubbish.
- It doesn't fit on the EPG
when you're clicking through-
- When you click, "View Sky" you can't,
yeah, that won't all fit on there.
- We were like, the title'll change. The title'll change.
Rubbish title.
- Quite frankly, I'm not saying that every night.
Cut to 20 years later.
- On the bridge.
- (both men) Get me out of here!
- Yeah, we've said it every night.
And it's kind of stuck, hasn't it?
You couldn't think of that show being called anything else.
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
- Other than, "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!"
- And which challenges have grossed you out the most?
Like, watching which celebs do what
has made your stomach turn?
- Mainly the eating trials.
- Eating trial every year. That is the worst thing.
Some of the things they've eaten over the years
from eyes to testicles to-
- Penises.
- Just...everything.
- Everything.
- Every body part you can imagine.
- But some of them, when they have a bad gag reflex...
Joe Swash, for example, was really bad.
And everything he popped in (spit-up sound)
He was throwing back up.
That's very tough to watch.
No matter how many times you see it.
When you stood right there...
And the worst one is, there's a thing called vomit fruit.
It just smells like sick.
It's like they're eating sick.
And then they have to turn to us
and show an empty mouth
and the vapors are coming across the table.
Yeah. It's pretty gross.
- Have either of you ever been close
to actually being sick during any of them?
- Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.
- And being close to kind of, really, not fainting,
but being really grossed out.
Yeah. Probably vomiting, actually.
When Fatima Whitbread had a cockroach stuck up her nose
and then just snorted it out,
and it shot out and scurried
back into the bushes, like...
Oh, God. I think I'm going to be sick.
- TV gold, though, wasn't it?
(laughter)
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
And so moving on to Saturday Night Takeaway,
which is obviously like your own show,
like, something that you get to shape a lot of.
How do you go about coming up with ideas for it?
And what sort of things are you thinking
we want to get this in there?
- We're constantly on the lookout for ideas.
And we sit down with our production team
in the summer, now,
for the next series show.
And we come up with our hit list of undercover victims,
but constantly looking at ideas
and trying to make each other laugh.
And the team bring in ideas.
So we're always kind of molding and shaping.
And some ideas don't make that series,
but they might make the series after.
Some ideas are two or three years in the making.
So it's constantly bubbling and constantly on the go.
- Sometimes management of certain celebrities
will say, "absolutely no."
But then, you know, you kind of work on them,
and work on them.
And then maybe next year they're a bit warmer,
and then by year three, it's a "yes."
We've always got a hit list.
- [Interviewer] Is there anyone on your hit list
at the moment that you're really-
- There is, but we're not-We can't say!
- No, no, no. You don't have to say their name,
but you're, like, really close to getting them...
- Yes.
- [Interviewer] ...and you're really-
- Yes, yes. (laughter)
(crosstalk)
- There are two we are very, very, very close to.
I'm not sure we'll get them both this year,
but there are two that-
We're very very, very close to one
and a slightly further away on the other.
But, yeah.
There are, there are two we are very excited about.
- We do live in constant fear
of getting done ourselves, though.
- [Dec] Yeah.
- [Interviewer] Right.
- Constantly! Like-
- [Interviewer] At any moment.
- Any second, if anything's a bit weird. Like even today.
You're like, you're looking for cameras.
- There's three!
- There's three cameras.
- We've spotted three, Ant!
And microphones!
(laughter)
- But, like, if we came in here today,
and you were like the interview from hell.
And like, we'd be like, what?
Is this an undercover on us?
- We're looking over our shoulders a lot.
We've got a lot of people out for us.
Gordon Ramsey has sworn revenge.
James Corden has sworn revenge.
Jeremy Kyle has sworn revenge.
We've got a lot of people out for us.
- Hold on. Who's behind there?!
(laughter)
- A lot of them-'cause I feel like James Corden
could pull a really good one, you know?
- He's got the resources.
- [Interviewer] Exactly.
- He does have the resources, the man power.
- Yeah.
- The know-how.
(laughter)
Stop it!
- [Interviewer] Well, you got it to look forward to,
haven't you?
- Yeah.
- Constantly looking over our shoulders,
constantly on the run. Constantly on the run.
- It's not a life! It's no life! You're on the run!
- Is there any advice
that you'd pass on to future presenters out there?
Or do you want to keep that to yourselves
for a few more years?
- Oh, yeah. We don't want any competition.
We are giving no advice.
No, I would just say-
- Don't rehearse. Don't know your lines.
Don't get ready for guests when they come on.
Yeah. Just wing it.
- No. Yeah. I mean.
Do your homework, but ultimately be yourself.
Let your personality shine through
and enjoy it. Because if you're enjoying it,
the people watching hopefully will enjoy too.
If you're not enjoying it, it will come across.
- And has there ever been a point where
you've stopped enjoying it a bit?
Or how have you always managed to carry that through?
Or is it something you have to sort of
remind yourself every now then, like,
actually, take a step back, this is really fun.
Let's enjoy this.
- I think pre-me taking a year off work,
I think we got into the habit of kind of, you know,
you're on a treadmill, and you're just kind of doing it.
And I think it helps taking time out
for both of us to kind of get some perspective
on it and just go, God, it's such an amazing job.
And we're so lucky to do it, and let's just have fun.
And we do. You know, we've kind of got renewed energy
and kind of vigor for it.
- And in everyday life,
let's say not in lockdown, two-meter times.
Do you find it weird
if you stood or sat the other way around?
- Yes. Because we've got...I mean, not...
Say in everyday life, we were
out playing golf or we get in the car.
So then, not really.
But if we ever go to do work,
and we're going to do an interview
and we're the other way around, it does feel weird now.
- Do you sort of look over the wrong side?
Oh, he's not there?
(laughter)
- Yeah!
- A little bit!
But even in the car, we sit that way around.
- Yeah. We didn't...It wasn't intentional.
- No, we just did it.
- We just naturally sit that way.
- A lot of the time we naturally find ourselves
that way around.
- What is your right side like? Oh, it's nice...
- It's lovely, isn't it?
- I never get to see it.
- Look! It's nice.
Some people find it weird as well.
Like, sometimes if we're at a restaurant or, you know,
if we're being in a bar or whatever,
and we're sat the wrong way around,
people come over and will go,
"Oh. Wrong way!"
Like, "all right. Thanks."
- Do they follow that up with saying
Byker Grove in your accent?
- Yes, that's normally there.
- And then they often say,
(funny voice) "You cannot see man!"
From Byker Grove.
- That's another one.
- Yeah.
- And then they always go you're much taller
in real life. Oh, no they don't.
- (laughter) I was gonna say
that one did surprise me then!
(laughter)
- They never say that!
We still get called the wrong names.
After 30 years of being on the telly and working together,
we still, I still get, "Hi, Dec!"
And he still gets, "Hi, Ant."
So now, I just kind of go with it, you know?
- I answered to any.
I've been called a lot worse.
So if it's "Ant," I still answer to that.
- You dropped in a few stories that we can expect
from the book.
Will you finish off by telling us
one more little anecdote
of your choice that listeners won't have heard before?
- Do you know what? I'll tell you about is,
you will really get to know the inner workings
of me and Dec by the way we (indistinct) a Chinese takeaway.
- Now, this is quite interesting.
This is quite interesting,
and I think most people out there
will side with me on this.
- I completely disagree.
So, let me tell you. My way of eating Chinese
is probably like most people out there watching this.
You get it, you get the takeaway,
you open the bag, get your plate.
You put bits of everything on your plate.
You sit down, press play on the movie, and you eat.
- Absolute savage.
- Right?
- I don't know where you're going with this.
- Well, obviously-
- Now the sociopath over here eats it differently.
- You take everything out. You get all your main courses.
You put them in the oven or the warming drawer.
- Warming drawer.
- I've got a warming drawer.
Or you put them in the oven at a very, very low heat,
just to keep them warm whilst you eat your starters.
So you have a prawn toast, a spring roll, a spare rib,
maybe a little chicken satay, a little bit of seaweed,
a bit of sweet chili sauce.
And you eat your starters.
Then you come back after that,
maybe have a pancake with some duck in it.
There's a bit of cucumber, spring onion.
- But it's not a restaurant.
Like, just whack it all on the plate.
Just get it down yet!
- I mean, this is how I would eat in a restaurant.
Don't get me wrong.
- But you can have a restaurant experience at home!
(laughter)
Why would you not?
- [Interviewer] I'm guessing
you're not watching the telly at the same time?
- No, well, well!
- [Interviewer] Candlelit dinner...
- There's no movie being watched
on the night when you're eating a Chinese with him,
believe me.
'Cause it's midnight,
and by the time he's finished...
- It's wonderful.
(crosstalk)
- It does sum up our two different personalities
very well I think.
- I do feel like, I mean, I would be curious to know,
but I feel like more of the population
might side with him.
- I think you're underestimating
the great British public.
I think you've underestimated them.
(laughter)
I do.
- We'll have to wait and see, won't we?
- We will!
- I think we'll run a poll on social media.
(laughter)
- I look forward to it.
Well, thank you so much.
It was great to chat to you,
and I'm super excited for the book to be out there
and for everyone to listen and read.
- Thank you. Hope you enjoy it.
- Yeah. Lovely chatting with you.
(mellow music)