Ant and Dec almost ended their working partnership "for good" over Ant’s battle with alcoholism.
The iconic duo have been a staple on UK television for almost 30 years, but have now admitted that their future was unclear when Ant McPartlin, 44, was convicted of drink driving in 2018.
Following his conviction, Ant went to rehab and cancelled a number of TV appearances in the process, leaving his pal Declan Donnelly to present ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ by himself, and host ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ with the help of Holly Willoughby.
Recalling their time filming ‘Ant and Dec’s DNA Journey’ over the last few years, Dec said: "Looking back, when we went into DNA, our relationship wasn’t where it should have been. We were on autopilot, working too hard and taking each other for granted, but Ant’s break forced us both to evaluate everything, almost from the perspective of an outsider."
Dec, also 44, admitted it was "frightening" to consider the possibility of never working with Ant again, and says their temporary break help them realise how much they "love each other" as co-workers and friends.
He added: "There was a real chance we were never going to work together again. Not knowing if Ant and Dec would continue was very scary for us both. Since 1990 we’ve made every decision together for the sake of Ant and Dec. Every discussion we’ve ever had has been ‘what are we going to do? What’s best for us?’ And now suddenly, we had to think about ourselves as individuals. ‘What do I want to do? What’s best for me?’. That felt like an alien mindset to adopt and it was very frightening.
"It was something we really took time over. We both spoke to lots of people, friends and family, and we both individually came to the conclusion that we wanted to keep working together. A break helped us realise how much we love what we do, and ultimately how much we love each other."
Ant believes filming their DNA documentary brought them closer than ever before.
Writing in their new book, ‘Once Upon a Tyne’, Ant said: "By the end of making DNA, our partnership was so much stronger than it had been at the beginning, because so much had happened to us both. I’d gone through rehab and a divorce and Dec had become a dad for the first time. These are seminal points in your life, huge moments that, especially in my case, could have gone either way.
"There were times in my recovery when I wasn’t sure I’d work again, or if I’d get to work with Dec, if we’d ever get to be Ant and Dec again. That sounds crazy now, but at the time it weighed heavily on my mind, because, at first, my prime focus had to be on getting myself well."