Declan Donnelly

Dec Donnelly
Donnelly at the British Academy Television Awards 2009.
Born	Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly 25 September 1975 (1975-09-25) (age 36) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Residence	London
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	White British
Occupation	Broadcaster, actor, singer
Years active	1987–present
Employer	ITV (previously BBC)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Partner	Clare Buckfield (1993–2003) Georgie Thompson (2009–11)

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.

Early life

Donnelly is the youngest of seven children born to Irish 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.^[1] His parents hailed from Draperstown, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, migrated to Newcastle, where they bought a house in 1958. ^[2]

Donnelly attended St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School and St Cuthbert's High School, which he left with 8 GCSEs.^[3]

Career

The part of Duncan on Byker Grove 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.

Personal life

At Ant's wedding to Lisa Armstrong in 2006, Dec was his best man.^{[citation needed]}

Earnings

In 2007, Ant and Dec signed a 2½ year, £30 million contract with ITV. They are estimated to be worth around £62m each.^{[citation needed]}

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 Awards for their contribution to television (at the young age of 27).
• Best Entertainment Presenter at the National Television Awards 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 Idol at the NTA's.
• The TVTimes Awards for Presenters and Entertainment Programme..

References

1. ^ "Declan Donnelly left devastated by the death of his father"
2. ^ Darlington and Stockton Times archive
3. ^ THE IoS PROFILE: Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly; Likely lad Archived from The Independent (London)

External links

• Declan Donnelly at the Internet Movie Database
• Declan Donnelly at BFI Film & TV Database
• Cult of Ant&Dec HQ
• ITV biography
• Official Ant and Dec website

Persondata
Name	Donnelly, Dec
Alternative names	Donnelly, Joseph Oliver
Short description	British television personality, presenter and actor
Date of birth	25 September 1975
Place of birth	Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
Date of death
Place of death